


Unravel The World

by SarahJuniperBerry



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Porn, Angst with a Happy Ending, Armageddon, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Blood Magic, Blood and Torture, Blood and Violence, Branding, Childhood Friends, Demon Sex, Devil May Cry 4 Dante/Nero, F/M, Face-Fucking, Family, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Going to Hell, Long-Term Relationship(s), M/M, Mating Rituals, Near Death, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Porn With Plot, Ritual Sex, Rough Sex, Sacrifice, School, Serious, Smut, Some Humor, Teen Angst, Worth Re-Reading, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-07-28 12:37:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 47,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20064154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarahJuniperBerry/pseuds/SarahJuniperBerry
Summary: Nero brought her home one night, both cold as ice and wet as dogs. Dante had been shocked, to say the least. A newborn with unnatural features whose family was murdered by demons. Nero swore he wouldn't abandon this child like he'd been abandoned by his father, so they raised her together. If you looked close enough everything was falling into place. The perfect life was being created between the three individuals. Peace is shattered; unexplained things happen as she grows and soon, Sparda's descendants wonder if there's more to her family's murder. Despite those looking out for her, she's not safe. A new power is unfolding unto Capulet. They can't protect her anymore. The world will unravel-slowly in a massacre of the human race.





	1. The Death Of A Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nero orders pizza but brings home something a bit sus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was rewritten after sitting on my fanfiction and deviantart for nearly six years. Please enjoy!

The wind whipped and licked, wet with snow and rain, against the structures surrounding frostbitten ears. The sleet falling from the sky felt like needles on the skin. One or two figures on the street dared to be out in nature's horrible weather. Among those people, one, in particular, was shivering and soaked to the bone.

Anger…

SIlver hair sopping wet and sticking to pale skin. The hood on his back was useless. He shrugged farther into his coat, his shoulders hunched as he passed a couple hugging close and sharing a useless umbrella. He took out his hands from his pocket to flip up his hood and zip up his trench all the way before putting his hands back in his pockets. No matter how useless, layers would help.

Impatience...

The couple walked along the streets quickly, wanting to get to shelter and out of the rain, however; Nero didn't really care whether he got soaked or not. It wouldn't matter anyway, his clothing was already soaked to the bone the moment it started to pour and the chapel ceiling crumbled. A failed mission to end them all. His mood soured, bitter. He just wanted to get the night over with and get back to Devil May Cry to see the old man. With the bitterness dwindling away, his face warmed at the thought of seeing Dante after so many days of not being at DMC. Son of Sparda, the great demon knight, Dante. Feeling his skin, seeing his face, hearing his voice… He had been gone for a whole six months after all and Nero wanted to see his lover again after traveling around doing job after job. Lovers... The word made him blush harder. He never thought he would be someone who would have a lover. It was true after all, even if he wasn't used to using the term. Not after his breakup with Kyrie, where she had realized that even though she loved Nero, it wasn't as deep as he or she thought that it was. He really only loved her as a sister, since she was the one who had cared for him when they were young. So he didn't know any other love. This love? This love with Dante was different. This was pure affection. Since he first saw the devil hunter, he had felt attracted to him. Not your typical love either. Deep, carnal love that sated both of their demons. Love that drove both of the devil hunters crazy in their own ways. At first, it had scared him. Dante had done a thorough job of convincing him it was alright.

At first, he'd thought his feelings were that of adoration. Considering that the devil hunter was more skilled than he was, but after he'd moved into Devil May Cry, he started to feel more for him. Thoughts of the first time he stepped through the doors of Devil May Cry floated into his head and he shivered farther into his coat. Unpleasant circumstances had lead to this particularly pleasant outcome, after all, no reason to dwell on the back, the first time he realized he thought Dante was hot, he thought he just had raging hormones. Of course a teenager his age would think that, but when he stayed up at ungodly hours thinking about how Dante was staring at him earlier that day and how he had felt his chest ache when he saw Dante get injured during missions, his thoughts changed and he thought he had a crush on him. The attraction has gone both ways. Dante couldn't keep his eyes or hands to himself. Was it a crush?

He had been totally and completely wrong about that. He was in love with the silver-haired half-beast. He loved the way his cockiness never got the better of him, how he only shaved when his stubble began to grow into a beard, how he looked like he had so much fun when they were on missions that he liked, everything. Not to mention how much... stamina the half-demon had. Nero blushed at that and briefly thought about their nights in bed before he shook his head, trying not to get a hard-on in the middle of the street. Shifting his headphones on his head, a gentle sigh escaped his lips as he passed a pizza shop. Dante would have surely waited until Nero got home before they ordered pizza because god forbid the old man order it himself and they purposely put olives on it.

So without missing a beat he strode into the shop and walked up to the counter. The man at the counter, greying and clearly Italian, turned to Nero and smiled, clearly knowing the white-haired devil.

"Back again Nero? It's been a while." He said in a kind voice. Nero nodded, throwing his hood and headphones back before shaking his hair out like a dog. Water flew everywhere before he took a step inside the shop.

"Yeah, just getting back from a job." He explained and the man nodded picking up a notepad and pen before leaning on this counter where the register was.

"The usual?" The man asked expectantly and Nero nodded once more. The man turned from the counter as Nero let out a tired sigh and reached for his wallet. Another fifteen dollars down the drain because of Dante's black hole he called a stomach. If Dante could stomach something other than pizza, Nero may have cooked every once in a while.

"I'm putting the money behind the register; I gotta stop by the shop next door." He briefly explained, setting down the money and exited the building and entering the pouring rain again for the third time that evening.

The store next door sold custom bullets for pretty much the cheapest you could get anywhere but at an honest price. There was a certain type of bullet he had been looking to see that he could get and he wanted to see how much they would be. With all the money he was raking in, he wouldn't mind getting a present for the old man's birthday. Dante in all of his ignorant glory didn't know that Nero knew when his birthday was and honestly; the only reason he knew when Dante's birthday was, was because Lady had drug him away from Dante long enough to tell him the old man's birthday was in a few weeks. And when he said drug he meant it literally. Lady had decided that she wanted to talk to him and burst into the office while Dante had decided that he wanted attention before jumping the poor teen. Nero was not only embarrassed but angry as well.

So, now he was on his way over to the custom bullets shop to see if they had the bullet he wanted and could put the insignia on the bullet that he wanted. Nero passed by an open alley, not really noticing it was there until he heard a wailing scream come out of the darkness in a long, stretched outcry. He halted in place, as stiff as a board before he heard the cry stop. Looking around he didn't see anyone else outside on the soaked pavement, only the reflections of the street lights on the puddles and dark windows of closed stores.

The wailing came again only this time much louder and as a constant scream. Definitely human. Clenching his jaw at the sudden adrenaline rush he turned his head to the alley, knowing it was coming from the deep shadows and turning around to follow it. Treading cautiously, he hurried down the alley looking for the cause of the screams. They continued on. Agonized screams… The further down the alley he got the darker it got and he realized that even though there was no roof overhead that the buildings got taller. Growing closer to the sound, the wailing grew loud enough that Nero's ears began to hurt, but he continued on. Finally, he got close enough that the alley broke out into four separate alleys and the moon shone down on a squirming bundle of wet cloth. At that moment the shrieks stopped. The white-haired male swallowed walking over to it, hearing it cry lightly and Nero heard his heart thumped loudly in his chest.

'Is that...?' Nero didn't have any time to finish as he knelt down and pulled back the cloth with a damp hand. His eyes widened and his heart skipped a few beats. Breathless he leaned down.

In the middle of a cold, dark, damp alley, Nero found a bundle of silver hair, pale skin, and frail arms. A tiny little baby. A baby… that was wailing in discomfort and had its eyes clenched closed in fear. Nero looked around the dark alley to see if anyone was present to look after the poor child. He knew if he found someone he'd give them a piece of his mind for even thinking of setting a child down in such a dangerous place. However, all he saw was black. Nothing but the sound of the baby's cries and the sound of the sleet. His pulse quickened as looked back down with a concerned look on his face. How could someone just leave a baby in the middle of an alley like this? Not to mention it was pouring outside and it was the middle of winter. He sighed to himself and wrapped the baby up in the cloth before glancing around again.

A wet, thick panicky cough made Nero's head spin to his right and through the smell of the snow and trash of the city, there was a hint of blood.

"I-is someone-" Another sickening, hacking cough before a crackling breath in. "..there?" A feminine voice whispered, barely heard over the pouring rain. Nero peered into the darkest part of the alley. It was just barely noticeable but he found a mound lying on the ground and he picked up the child to walk over to the person who had spoken. He heard his heart in his head and felt it in his throat.

"Is this your baby ma'am?" Nero asked and as he got closer he could see how in horrible shape she really was.

The woman was beaten to hell. The skin was torn, ripped and bloodied. Though her face was surprisingly unscathed, on closer inspection he could see that one of her arms was missing but the bloodied long sleeve of her coat led Nero to believe her arm had been torn off. The smell of blood was strong around her and so was the remaining stench of demons.

"My baby..." She said again in a whisper before coughing again. The words were barely discernible over the rain. She was getting weaker now. "Where is my baby...?" Nero knelt down with the child.

"Right here, ma'am. Your baby isn't hurt." He explained and she smiled a little bit in the darkness. Even her smile was torn, yet she couldn't keep it off her face.

"Good..." She paused, taking a deep shuddering breath and looking at him with scared eyes before continuing. "Help... Thera..." She struggled to speak, spitting up more blood and he looked at her with worry.

"Tell me a number to call?" He asked and she shook her head.

"...husband.. murdered..." She coughed and her voice began to get weaker. "Could you... protect her? Demons will-" She broke off coughing and Nero fought with himself for an answer.

How could he protect a child when he had trouble protecting himself with his work and his clients? But this woman was dying and this child had barely even begun to live. With all the demons around him on a daily basis, how was he supposed to protect something so fragile? With demons hunting her as the woman said… He sighed before nodding to her. He had to. There was no way he could leave such a young being in an alley for the demons to come back and get. She smiled at him.

"Happy Birthday... Thera... I love y..." She whispered, reaching up with her bloodied hand to touch her baby but her hand fell to the ground lifeless before she got to touch her baby for the last time.

Nero clenched his jaw shut in remorse and closed his eyes. The baby continued to wail in his ear but he chose to ignore it as he stood up and turned with Thera in his arms, his eyes scanning the empty alley in front of him.

"Shit, what do I do now?" He asked and sighed to himself. First thing was first. He had to get the kid to quiet down. He didn't need someone clambering down the alley to find him with a dead woman and a crying baby. "Okay...

* * *

Thera, how is this going to work?" He asked the infant not expecting an answer but, for his sanity, asked anyway.

He held her close, not sure how to hold her and bobbed her up and down. Awkwardly he shushed her and soon got to the point where he was bouncing her in his arms gently and switching from foot to foot to comfort her. Once she had quieted down she was gurgling and giggling at him. Her eyes opened to reveal dim amethyst eyes.

Nero looked at her questioningly before sighing and making his way out of the alley. He at least had to get the kid in some warm clothes or something so it didn't die from frostbite. He exited the alley and glanced around for any infant stores.

"Of course I'm not gonna find any. I'm in the shitty part of the city." He mumbled to himself as he walked slowly back to the pizza shop.

When he entered, he gently put the cloth back over the baby's head so it wouldn't attract too much attention. The old man from earlier at the counter walked up to the counter, his eyes fixed on the bundle in Nero's arms. Guess his idiotic plan of hiding the baby didn't work so well.

"How old did you say you were, kid?" The man asked with suspicion in his voice. Nero blushed like mad.

"It's not my kid!" He burst but remembering he had Thera in his arms he quieted down. "I'm babysitting for someone for the time being. She kind of dropped her on me." Nero only sort of lied. The man nodded as a woman came out from behind the counter and huddled next to Nero.

"Can I see her? She seems to be a bit uncomfortable." The woman asked and Nero reluctantly handed her over.

"Sure Rose. You wouldn't happen to have any dry baby clothes on you would you?" He asked scratching the side of his nose. "She kind of got wet because I don't have an umbrella." He said sheepishly. She looked up at him with a frown.

"I'd say so. She's soaked all the way to the bone!" She scolded and turned from him with the baby held close to her chest. "I have some but I don't know if they'll fit. You're lucky I had a baby last year." She said and he scratched the side of his nose in embarrassment before sitting down.

"Thanks Rose." He said before she disappeared with the baby. The man walked around the counter and handed him the pizza. He put his hands on his hips causing Nero to look up at him after he had set the pizza on his lap.

"I don't think you're going to be able to carry both at the same time, so I'll let you borrow my car if you promise to bring it back in the morning." He explained and Nero smiled at him.

"That'd be great Jerry. Thanks." He said and they both waited for Rose to come back downstairs with Thera.

When they came back down the stairs Thera was dressed in clothes that were three sizes too big for her but were dry nonetheless. Her outfit was a forest green T-shirt that was overflowing the black overalls she was wearing over top. She had little green socks over her feet with brown booties to keep her feet warm and a cap on her head. Rose was rewrapping her in a new blanket to keep the rain and wind out of her face.

"Sorry, their boys' clothes but that's all I have," Rose explained and Nero shook his head standing up with the pizza in one hand.

"They're fine. Thanks. I'll make sure to give them back when I return the car tomorrow." He explained and Rose tipped her head to the side in question.

"You let him borrow the car father?" She asked and Jerry nodded as he turned to walk back behind the counter and fill an order out.

"He can't carry a baby and a pizza at the same time all the way back to his place." He explained and she nodded.

"Okay well... take good care of her. She has really pretty eyes you know. I wonder what the mother looks like." Rose complimented. Nero chuckled with a bit of sadness as he remembered the woman's fine curly golden-red hair tainted with blood and mud from the alley.

"Thanks, Rose. And I will. Bye guys." He spoke as casually as possible while walking outside with the pizza in one hand and Thera in the other. He walked over to the car and unlocked it using the key in the underside of the cars' wheel cover. Once he had set the pizza inside he looked over at the bullet shop and back to Thera before sighing and walking back into the pizza shop. "Rose? Could you watch Thera for a while? I need to pick up something for Dante." He asked and Rose walked around the counter to look at the child for a while and Nero thought she was doing to say no before she sighed and held her arms out. Hesitantly, Nero held the baby out.

"Fine Nero. But I'm not gonna be the babysitter of a babysitter for too long." She said taking the baby. Nero nodded, giving a sideways smile.

"I know. It's just for a few minutes." He explained and jogged out of the store and into the bullet shop.

The man at the counter glanced his way before going back to reading a "Hunters Monthly" magazine. He had a bored but irritated look on his face which only went back to the bored look while he looked at the magazine.

"Kids aren't allowed in here." He stated and Nero glared at him.

"I'm twenty-three. Thanks for the compliment though. I came to look for some bullets for a friend's birthday." He explained and the man put down his reading parchment to look at him steadily.

"I.D.?" He asked gruffly and impatiently. Nero rolled his eyes and took out his wallet before showing him his Driver's License. The man nodded once before getting up from his chair. "What kind of bullets were you looking for?" He asked and Nero took out a piece of paper with the brand of bullets for Dante's gun. He handed it to the man and the man briefed over it before his eyes widened. "These sure are expensive bullets kid. How many rounds did you want?" He asked in awe and Nero tipped his head to the side in thought.

"I haven't really thought about it. How about ninety rounds?" He asked and the man looked at him in shock.

"Can you afford that? It's about a dollar ten for each round. That's a helluva lotta money." He asked and Nero looked at him seriously.

"Of course I can. I wouldn't be suggesting unless I knew I could pay for it." He explained and the man only shrugged before walking over to the case of bullets and extracting five cases of twenty bullets.

"Did you want any engraving on them?" He asked as he straightened to look at Nero and Nero nodded pulling out another piece of paper. He handed that slip of paper to the man and the man looked it over before grinning.

"Person must be pretty important for you do draw something like this." He said and walked over to the register, placing the papers on the counter. The first slip of paper said "Speer Gold Dot 230gr JHP (23966)" and the second slip of paper had Nero's name in scripted cursive writing and the woman from the Devil May Cry sign lying on top of his name. Lady also had the audacity to add devil horns and a tail because he had to ask Lady to draw the whole thing seeing as his artistic talents sucked. He had chuckled at it though and thought it had actually looked good.

"Yeah, I suppose he is. The old man's been putting up with my bull shit for two years now. Thought I'd get him something as thanks." He explained and the guy nodded.

"Alright, the custom engraving is going to be an extra sixty for the total on all of the rounds along with the regular price, plus tax. The total's one hundred and sixty-four dollars and thirteen cents." He explained and Nero took out his wallet again before taking out a wad of bills.

"Sweet, I'll still have enough to get him some shiner for his sword." He mumbled to himself as he put down the exact change and shoved the rest of his money into the wallet before securing it in his back pocket. "About ten grand left." He said grinning at the guy.

"What the hell do ya do for a living?" The guy questioned and Nero gave him a smirk.

"If I told you I'd have to kill you." He said seriously before bursting out in laughter at the guys' face. "Nah just fuckin' with you." He said and put his hand on the table. "I'm a bounty hunter." He explained and the guy nodded.

"Must be getting a lot of jobs for as much money as you have." He concluded and Nero scoffed.

"Helluva lot more than my partners been getting. He only likes ones that interest him." He said and the guy stopped counting bills to look at him.

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about Dante would you?" He asked and Nero paused from looking around the shop to look at him.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" He asked and the guy laughed.

"He came here a couple of weeks ago asking if anyone had come in talking about him. The guy's been coming in here almost daily." He asked and closed the register. "On days he didn't have anything to do he'd stop to talk to me since this shop doesn't get that much business. Talks about how his partners been doing a shit-ton of job and hasn't been at the office for a while." He explained and Nero nodded.

"Well then. It was nice to talk but I have a few errands to run before I go back to the shop." He explained and waved behind him as he walked out of the shop. He continued down the street to the pizza shop before entering and seeing Rose playing with Thera. "Okay, ready to go. I put the order in that I needed and it should be done in a few days." He said and Jerry gave him a thumbs up from the kitchen. Rose handed him Thera and he waved before setting off for home.

Dante sighed in irritation as he set down his magazine and tossed an empty beer can onto his desk. He had been waiting for Nero to get home like he said he would be four hours ago. Dante didn't want it to get to him, telling himself that Nero was probably just shopping or being held up by Lady. However, Lady walked into the shop with Trish in tow, demanding he pays his debts off. Again. And as the sunset more shops around him began to close, his fingers fidgeted with the sides of his magazine. So, to fix all of his problems for the moment anyway-he set the magazine down and got up from his chair so he could pace.

And after a half an hour of pacing and his nerves being stretched into a thin almost nonexistent wire, he turned to the door to hear the beeping of a car horn, signaling that a door was locked. Surprised, he glanced out the window to see Nero stepping out of a car and he flew back to his desk, propping his legs onto the desk and picking the magazine back up. He had to make sure it seemed like he was keeping his cool, even if he was going to tell Nero that he had been worried.

Nero entered through the big double doors before closing out the horrible weather and basking in the warmth of the office. Dante's eyes scaled down his form to check for any injuries that had kept him out all night but he only noticed pizza and a bundle of cloth being held close Nero's chest. The familiar scent of Dante's mate made his demon purr and a smile appear on his face. That smile faded just as quickly as it had gotten there as a lingering scent of blood and demon and something a bit sweeter filled his nose. Nero turned from the door and walked over to the couch silently.

"Hey," Dante said briefly and Nero waved distractedly. Dante watched Nero put the small wiggling bundle on the couch before he took off his raincoat. "What is that?" Dante questioned looking at the squirming bundle that was now gurgling. The color drained from his face as the scent grew stronger.

"What is what?" Nero asked trying to avoid the conversation. Dante glared at him and let out a light growl.

"That." He said pointed to the wiggling blanket. Nero turned and picked it up.

"A new demonic mystery." He said pulling back the blanket. A small head of silver hair popped out of the blanket and Dante forgot how to breathe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those that aren't sure, the babies name is pronounced the way it is spelled. Th-AIR-uh not T-AIR-uh. The H is not silent. For those that enjoyed, please feel free to drop a kudo or a comment! Bookmark to see more chapters! Theres quite a few more to go. 😊


	2. Newborn of the Solstice

Dante had to sit back down in his chair and rub his temples. A small, disbelieving chuckle left his mouth. A child. An infant inside his shop. A human infant? Demon? Another half-breed like himself and Nero perhaps. Too many questions ran through his head. How had the kid gotten his hands on it in the first place? Nero put the child back on the couch, trying to give the older half-blood space to think, and unfolding the blanket from around her. Her little hand reached out to grab Nero's devil arm. Nero flinched, barely noticeable, but when the child didn't try and eat his finger he relaxed and watched her play with his fingers; touching his fingers in awe with wide purple eyes. Slowly he began to get them undressed out of their wet clothing. His considerably more so than the newborns. He finally heard Dante breathe in deeply and let it go just as slowly.

"Why is there a baby inside our shop Nero?" Dante breathed as level headed as possible. It still came out as a growl, but he wasn't yelling. Mild irritation Nero supposed. Nero's sea blue orbs met icy blue like they had so many times before and stared into frustrated confused eyes. The confusion was something Nero rarely ever saw in Dante's eyes. The frustration he saw quite a lot, but this new look caught his breath. Walking in with a newborn was quite something considering he had been away for almost four months. Nero was sure thoughts were running through the old man's head as he sat there looking at him. The white hair on the infant's head certainly was a surprise to Nero as well, but for Dante, it must have been an entirely different assumption. He frowned before glancing down at the baby again. The baby was now simply looking up at him, her eyes drifting closed again.

"I don't know much," He began, immediately seeing anger grow in frosty orbs. Quickly, as Dante's demon began to growl lowly he continued. "I was walking back to grab pizza from my last job and heard screaming. When I followed it, it was too late to save her mother… She only told me the baby's father is dead and wished her daughter a happy birthday, Dante..." He explained as calmly as possible and Dante rolled his eyes scoffed. Really, what was Dante thinking now? "Come on Dante, I couldn't just leave the baby to die. I'm not that much of a heartless bastard." He growled and Dante rolled his eyes with a shake of his head.

"Yes, you could've," Dante said simply and got up out of his chair to turn towards the kitchen. "We don't need any more mouths to feed." He said curtly and walked into the kitchen. Nero bit back the anger inside himself, but the memory of the woman's golden hair stained with blood haunted his memory again. It reminded him of the picture of his lovers' mother that he kept on his desk. Something was going on with Dante. He normally had more compassion for humans than this.

"You're a heartless bastard you know that old man?" Nero yelled after him, causing the baby to start crying. Shushing her, Dante emerged from the kitchen with another beer, fresh from the fridge and icy cool. Dante gave a curt look at the back of the couch where the baby was laying before his eyes looked up at his mate with teasing eyes.

"I'm not heartless, kid. You know I love you." He explained as-a-matter-of-factly. Nero glowered with a cherry blush and Dante smirked at his bothered appearance. After sitting down in his chair again and sipping his beer for a few moments, his gaze slowly floated over to the younger demons form that was now smiling sadly down at the small bundle. After another agonizing thought to himself, Dante let out a defeated sigh. Nero had also been an orphan. He'd told the older demon that shortly after he moved in with him. The last thing he needed to do was drop this baby off at an orphanage and have them go tossing her from home to home or worse yet- abusing her inside the orphanage itself. "If you want to keep her you're going to have to take care of her." He explained trying to come to reason with the fact that a baby would, indeed, be staying here for the foreseeable future. The room was quiet for a while except for the small sound the baby let out. Dante wondered what Nero was thinking as the silence stretched out longer. Slowly Nero stood up, turning to his mate with anger radiating through him.

"What the hell is your problem Dante? She's not a dog. Just because it's a baby doesn't mean you can treat it like any less of a human!" Nero hadn't meant for his voice to grow into a yell. All he could think about was his days as a kid, being yelled at and kicked. So he had yelled and Thera burst into tears again. Nero flinched where he was, regret in his features, and turned to the wailing infant. Dante had his hands over his ears and he was glaring in Nero's direction.

"Alright, alright! Just shut her up!" He exclaimed and Nero glared dark ocean blue daggers at him. It had been a while since he'd been this angry with Dante. One comment after another had made him angrier than the last.

"Her name is Thera Dante." He stated before standing with the baby and rocking her gently. "And I don't have to work harder because I've been working my ass off to get money to pay off your debts." He spoke in a raised voice instead of yelling so as to not frighten the child anymore. "It's okay Thera, calm down." He said quietly trying to calm her down.

"What's with all the racket in here? It sounds like someone's dying!" Someone yelled from outside and the door burst open causing Thera to let out a new level of screams as it hit the wall.

"Fuck..." Nero whispered and he bobbed her up and down some more. "What's wrong? Are you hungry? Is that it? Crap do we even have food to feed her?" He asked ignoring the person at the door.

"We have leftover pizza," Dante said jokingly giving the people in the doorway a smirk and dodged the floor lamp that Nero had thrown at him.

"If the next thing that comes out of your mouth isn't something remotely smart then I'm going to shove my sword up your-" He was cut off as Dante clapped Nero's back.

"Well if it isn't Lady and Trish. Glad you're back with the drinks." He said and Nero turned to the girls who were staring at him two girls' eyes went back and forth between Nero and the baby. Lady slowly put her bags down where she was and gave him a disapproving frown. Nero's face grew nervous as he opened his mouth to answer. Dante nearly grinned his smirk hurt but he answered before Nero could. "Nero brought home a present. Sadly it isn't the pizza." He commented impishly as he retreated from the furious boy and Nero almost threw another piece of furniture at him. Nero tried again to respond but Lady had already begun talking.

"Nero. Please tell me that isn't yours." Lady asked and Nero looked at her incredulously, a blush settled on his cheeks. Butterflies grew in his stomach. Why did everyone think he'd had an illegitimate child while he was away?

"Of course not!" He yelled and Thera-if it was even possible- wailed louder. "For fucks sake.." He pleaded rocking her , appalled at how he was holding the infant, sighed heavily and walked over to Nero before snatching Thera away. Nero was surprised when she immediately took over, holding her like it was natural.

"First of all, you're holding her wrong." She said supporting Thera's head with the crook of her arm. Her bum and legs were also cushioned by her hand and torso. "Second of all, bouncing her up and down like that isn't helping either. She'll get sick if you bounce her too much." She explained gently bobbing her body in rhythm while swaying lightly. The remaining three adults watched in awe. "Third, she's probably hungry or needs to be changed." She explained and lifted Thera up to sniff the child's diaper. Her face twisted as she gagged. "Yes. She needs to be changed." She stated and wrinkled her nose. Looking at the diaper she blinked and opened it. Upon further inspection, black tar filled the child's diaper. "And last, this child was just born. Within the last four hours." She finished looking over at the demons in the room.

"How'd you manage to pick up a newborn baby?" Trish asked quietly, looking out at the wet roads. Nero and herself were on their way to one of the closest infant stores. Lady had been royally pissed at how Nero didn't even consider the fact that; yes, babies needed more care than adults do. This meant being changed every hour and fed every other. Nero scratched the side of his nose in an attempt at hiding the nervous blush on his cheeks.

"The mother had been attacked by a demon while I was on my way back to the shop." He shrugged. "I guess I just have a soft spot for children." He concluded and Trish nodded as they pulled into the minimall. The stretch went all the way down and was almost as big as a football field. Too bad most of them were closed.

One of the only stores that were still open at the god awful hour they were out was a quaint boutique on the very end of the minimall stretch. Toddlers and Tots it was called. Nero sighed to himself as he could already feel the money in his wallet disappear.

"So what are we getting here again?" He asked as Trish got a cart. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Everything a baby needs." She stated as she went to the first aisle and started putting things in the cart. Things began piling up as they breezed through isles throwing one or two of each thing into the cart. The entire cart was overflowing with things he had only seen on TV and some things he didn't know that they made.

So many bottles, bibs, pacifiers, baby wipes, burp cloths, newborn sleepers, formula, Swaddling blankets, crib mats, socks, a cap, cloth wipes and washcloths, Onesies, sweaters, natural baby shampoo, diaper cream, baby nail clippers, Natural baby lotion, baby brush and comb, Gripe water, an insert baby bath for their bath/shower, baby carrier, infant safety car seat, stroller, bouncer, diaper bag, crib, mattress, waterproof pads, a freaking rocking chair, digital thermometer, Nasal aspirator, Infant acetaminophen, night light, a baby mobile and shit ton of cloth diapers that he could reuse.

"So much for paying off Dante's debts." He mumbled to himself as he walked up to the register. The young lady at the register looked like she was about the same age as Nero. She smiled at him as she began ringing stuff up.

"Getting ready for the big day?" She asked and he looked away from her with a blush. She chuckled. "Most people would be happy, not embarrassed." She continued ringing the stuff up. Trish smiled back at her.

"It's a friend's baby. She doesn't really have the money or many friends so we're paying for most of the stuff." She outright lied and Nero grumbled something inaudible. Trish thought it may have been a thank, but she wasn't sure. When the lady finished ringing them up she looked at them expectantly.

"That'll be $1351.49 please." She said and Nero almost cried. So much money? For one tiny human? He pulled out his wallet with a sad look on his face and took out another chunk of his cash and handed it to the woman. She smiled put it in the register and gave him his change.

"Thanks and have a nice day." She said and they left the store, bags in the cart to be placed into the car before they headed out. So much money spent on this child in just one day and this was only the beginning. Dante would surely panic at the amount of money he'd spent on her. He likely wouldn't be finding out if it was up to the younger devil hunter. Nero glared at the dashboard all the way home.

He wasn't going to abandon this child like he was abandoned when he was little. Every night, coming home to different homes. Most abused him. Some were nice but they were abused because of the system. Nero was a problem child. He would never let that happen to Thera. He would keep his child away from a life of sadness. Kyrie and Kredos were nice enough to take him in, so he would repay their kindness. Turning his head to look out the window he sighed only of course because Trish offered to drive. How could he offer that up? He was too pissed to look at the road after all. Soon they were pulling up to the front of the Devil May Cry office.

"I never thought having a kid would be so expensive," Nero complained walking through the doors of Devil May Cry. He was carrying the crib, which was full of bags, making it easier to carry in more. Trish hummed in agreement swinging the door closed behind them.

"Yeah well don't complain. We got everything and most of the stuff we won't need to buy again." Trish explained and Nero exhaled a little as he put the crib full of stuff down and turned to see Dante sitting at his desk holding Thera in his arms awkwardly. His hands were too big that he was holding her up in front of him with her head propped up with his two pointer fingers and the rest of her was sitting in his large hands. Nero slowly broke down into a fit of laughter at the face he was making. So disgusted and appalled by such a small child. Dante's gaze cut into him, making Nero straighten up, though it didn't stop his giggles.

"Shut up and come over and change her. My nostrils are dying." Dante complained holding out Thera while Trish set her stuff on the desk. She took the infant out of Dante's hands gingerly, cupping her head as she did so. Then gently turned around with her before speaking.

"He'll do it while you go outside and get the rest of the bags." She ordered causing Dante to drop his smile and throw himself back in his chair with a sigh. Then he pouted in his own special way which usually consisted of him making some sort of annoying sound and dropping his feet from his desk before getting up to actually do what he was told.

Nero straightened and walked over to take Thera from Trish before holding her on his in his arm and looking to the bags. Trish smiled at him from behind his back before shaking her head and sitting some bags on Dante's desk and going through them. Dante exited the building so he could get the rest of the many bags that were in the trunk and back seat.

"Now we just have to find out where everything is," Nero said and Trish nodded.

"First things first. We need to find the blanket to put her on so we can unpack all this stuff." So they sifted through all of the bags one by one. After the third bag, they found the blanket and set it on the floor in front of the couch before searching for the diapers, wipes, and baby powder. Dante came in then and set the rest of the bags down on the floor next to the door before going back and sitting in his chair, watching silently while they were working.

"Found the diapers and baby powder," Nero said and turned to see Trish hold up the wipes. Next, he set to work on changing Thera as Dante watched from his place at his desk. Nero made a horrified and disgusted sound as he peeled the black tar from Thera's bottom. "Seriously, how do babies crap this much!?" Nero complained and Thera cooed. Dante let out a laugh and Lady chuckled from her place on the couch. She answered him in kind.

" Babies always crap like that when they're firstborn. It'll turn back to normal seedy shit in a few days. " She explained and Nero stared at her in wonder for a minute before going back to changing Thera. Sensing his question, Lady turned to look at him. "What? Did you not expect a fine single lady like me to know anything about babies?" She asked and Nero shrugged before he continued wiping away baby poop.

"I guess it just surprises me you know something about parenting." He explained and she laughed.

"I've been through a lot Nero. High School in an all-girls school has a lot of fun things happen. Have you seen the way kids shovel down food compared to teenagers who starve themselves and still gain weight?" She asked and Nero smirked at that.

"You're very observant." He said and picked up Thera and the dirty diaper before he got up and walked into the kitchen to throw the diaper away. Dante, seeing his direction lurched up from his chair. Lady got up from her place on the couch and jogged outside after checking her phone.

"Throw it outside! I don't want this place smelling like a dirty baby!" Dante called from the office.

"Whatever you say your hine-ass!" Nero called back in a smart tone. Dante rolled his eyes and Lady and Trish walked through the front door carrying a big box.

"What the hell is that?" Dante asked and Trish rolled his eyes at his irritated tone.

"A playpen," Lady said in an enthusiastic tone. "Thera can hang out in here while you guys are down here in the office working." She said stressing the last word.

Dante picked up a magazine completely ignoring the last word and started to flip through it. Lady glared at his inability to do any manual labor before Nero came out of the kitchen holding a sleeping Thera and looked over at Trish and Lady.

"Could you two help me bring the crib upstairs? I want to put her to bed." He explained and they nodded. Dante, of course, stayed where he was and read while they worked. 'Lazy old man...' Nero thought and crossed his arms over his chest. "Dante, I take it you can follow the directions on the back of the baby formula and make her a bottle?" Nero asked and Dante snorted in amusement before dropping his magazine and got up from his seat again. Having this kind of humorous indifference for one another reminded him of when they had first moved in together.

Nero helped Trish up the stairs with the crib while Lady held Thera. They set up the crib up in the spare bedroom where Nero used to sleep before he moved into Dante's room. Putting it together took about three hours. After two bottle feedings and lots of cursing, Nero finally got up from the rocking chair they'd brought up to feed Thera in and he set the infant into the crib gently before taking the blanket from downstairs and covering her up before he left the room silently and walked back downstairs to find Trish and Lady gone for the third time today. He walked around the stairs and to the couch, looking over at Dante to see the red-clad devil still reading the same magazine. He was towards the end now. Nero wondered if that was how he got all his information. Endless magazines.

"Did the girls leave?" He asked quietly as he turned away to the couch under the stairs. Dante looked up from his magazine, watching Nero walk over to the TV to turn it on. He was surprised that the blue-clad devil wasn't completely pissed at him for how the older of the two had been acting all day. Not wanting to pursue another fight, he brushed the thought away.

"Yeah. They needed their beauty sleep." He said going back to his magazine. Nero made a noise saying that he had heard and flopped down on the couch. At six in the morning, the sun made the night disappear as dawn approached. Soon the sun would filter through the windows. It would come through the window in front of him first, the glare hitting his eyes and then it would flow through the rest of the shop as the other window was filled with light. He wouldn't have much more time to rest. Even if he didn't absolutely need it yet. His body was tired, aching from his missions and wanting, no, needing peace and quiet after the journey he'd just taken.

His thoughts floated to the newborn upstairs, just barely half a day old. Nero thought back on what Lady had said around four-thirty that morning. That the baby had been about four hours old. So she'd been born sometime after midnight? At midnight? His thoughts floated away again with a sigh.

"I'm gonna die before that kid turns two." He mumbled to himself. He heard Dante chuckle.

"At least it'll be an eventful two years before you die." He said and got up from his chair. Nero smirked closing his eyes as Dante got up from his place at his desk and walked over to him. The older demon leaned over the back of the couch, one of his hands brushing a few of the others tresses from his forehead. Nero opened one eye to stare up at him, sea blue orb burning into sky blue ones. The two of them shared a look. No words were shared for a while before Nero broke the silence.

"You're helping me with her. I don't care if I have to drag you around to make you do it." Nero stated and though his voice was serious, it was also tired. Seeing how drained the younger man was, Dante sighed, leaning back while scratching his head of shaggy silver hair.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll help." He said and for a second he contemplated going back to his desk but changed his mind and leaned back down farther to peck Nero on the lips.

They both breathed for a moment, looking at each other before Nero closed his eyes and leaned up to catch Dante's lips again, this time in a deeper more heated kiss. Urgency, need. The kiss was gentle at first but grew harder, more carnal as the kiss grew longer. Both of their demons growled as Dante snaked his hand into Nero's hair before pulling back. So many months away from each other had made them so frustrated. They reconnected their lips, Dante leans as much as the couch would allow without crushing the smaller of the two. Nero drank in every kiss and breath of his lover, quietly groaning with every bit of his lip and every prod of a tongue. A good while later when they had decided they'd kissed enough, they separated and Dante leaned back up with a new dirtier smirk on his lips.

"You wanna wake the kid?" He asked in a joking voice. Nero blushed and averted his gaze to the TV a few feet away.

"Why would I want to do that when she just fell asleep?" He asked and Dante shrugged straightening from his seat on the back of the couch and walking away.

"Why do you scream so loud during sex?" He asked and Nero let out a defending 'HEY!' before Dante retreated to the kitchen to find pizza. Nero sighed, wondering about his "go-with-the-flow" lover and stood from the couch. He didn't feel like he had the energy to stay up anymore.

"I'm going to bed," Nero called not caring if he heard or not as he set for the stairs. His problem now in between his legs rubbed his jeans with every step. When he was in their room he stripped to his boxers before crawling under the covers of their bed, trying his best to ignore the problem. 'Perverted old man.' He thought before he closed his eyes and focused on sleep.

DantexNero

9:58AM

Thera started wailing from the other room and thanks to the baby monitor in their room that Lady had so generously put their while they weren't looking, Nero was submitted to the screaming cries of the hungry female in the next room over. Groaning he flipped over. Noticing that Dante had joined him in the two hours he'd been asleep, nudged Dante's side.

"Old man, go feed her..." He complained and nudged him harder. Dante only snored louder in his sleep. "...Dante... Come on..." Nero said sitting up and shaking him by the shoulder. Dante kept snoring. 'How the hell does he sleep so god damned heavily?' Nero thought to himself as he stretched his foot out and put it to Dante's side.

He gave one easy shove and Dante went tumbling over the side of the bed. He landed with a thud, shaking the entire floor before he lurched up into a sitting position looking around in a panic. Nero just flopped back down and flipped over.

"Go feed Thera." He demanded and Dante groaned getting up. Rubbing the side of his face and neck he shook out the pain before looking at his mate.

"That's one helluva way to wake me up, kid. Why not a kiss next time?" He asked and Nero growled from where he was lying. "Okay, okay, sheesh. Calm your nuts kid. I'm going." He said and Nero lurched up from bed to throw a pillow at the retreating devil hunter, but the pillow only hit the already shut door.

"Idiot..." He mumbled blushing before lying down and rolling over.

Through the baby monitor, he heard the door open, the silent creaking of the door familiar and reminded him of all the nights he would sneak into the old man's room while he slept. Dante would wake up every time and pull the covers down for him. It was a kind of understanding they had after a while. Right before they shared their feelings for one another. Dante walked into the warm room, his footsteps hitting the wood floor almost silently as he approached the crib.

"Hush up… what'd the kid say your name was? Thera?" He sniffed and made an offended grunt. "Well, whatever." There was some rustling, the crib mattress creaking and Thera immediately went silent. Nero smiled knowing Dante had picked her up. "Jeez, kid. Just needed some attention?" He asked her, but she only made frustrated gurgling noises.

Nero chuckled at that. Thera was completely taken in by Dante and Dante wasn't even someone who should look at kids let alone care for them. Somehow though, Nero thought Dante was taking a liking to Thera just as much as she was to him. Nero heard Dante walk around before the door opened back up and closed behind him. The baby monitor went silent and Nero could hear the other's footsteps pass their room before they went downstairs. Nero sighed again and closed his eyes again for the third time that morning before he fell asleep.

Dante entered the kitchen and opened the fridge which was stocked with enough food to feed an army-courtesy of Nero's now nearly empty wallet- to which he took out a bottle of milk from the door of the fridge and popped it into the microwave. He didn't remember having a microwave until the first time he had to feed Thera around four that morning. Having to wake up every two hours to feed something was worse than having a puppy.

While the milk was warming in the microwave Dante let Thera play with his finger as he looked at her eyes.

"That's one helluva pair of eyes ya got their kid." He spoke softly, his voice feeling loud in the nearly silent house. His hand hesitated but brushed the little white head of hair on the baby. "We need to go bury your mom later. Then we have to find out who killed your mom and dad." He spoke to the quiet baby and felt the warmth come to his cheeks when the baby gently grabbed onto his pinky finger.

The microwave beeped and he popped it open before checking it like Lady had told him to so it wouldn't burn Thera's mouth. He leaned against the counter while he fed Thera, the baby suckling the nipple of the bottle loudly. Her little hands were fisted to her chest and Dante wondered just how old this baby actually was. She didn't look old enough to be more than a half a day old and he remembered what Lady had told them. That meant that the baby was only about ten hours old? A smile made its way onto Dante's face as he remembered today was what most people called "Winter Solstice". The shortest day of the year. The longest night. No wonder demons had been after her. Still, such a small newborn, maybe a premie?

"No wonder you're such a shrimp." He said smirking as she downed the rest of the bottle.

He dumped the bottle into the sink to get washed before walking into the office and looking at the bags strewn across the floor before walking over to the couch and sitting on it. He sifted through one bag after another before he found a pacifier, took the time to boil it and put it in Thera's mouth after it had cooled off. The whole process he was carrying her around the house in the crook of his arm.

"There, now you can't cry." He said approaching the couch before sitting back and laying his head on the back of it. There were more suckling noises as Thera went to town on the pacifier in her mouth, finding comfort in the foreign object. Her hand latched onto the blanket Dante had wrapped her in before bringing her downstairs and put her other hand on Dante's shirtless stomach. He looked down at her and she looked up at him with big round purple eyes, still suckling the pacifier. "What?" Was all he said and she continued to look at him. "Do I have something on my face?" He said and her eyes started to drift closed. "You really are something else, aren't you?" He asked and her head bobbed a couple of times before her suckling slowed and she fell asleep. Occasionally she would suckle in her sleep, but she was still the rest of the time.

He sighed and laid his head back against the couch again, not feeling like getting up. Getting up at ungodly hours wasn't killing him like it normally would to anyone else- only because he was used to it- but he didn't want to have bags under his eyes when he woke up. Those are never fun to look at. Slowly, his consciousness began to wander to other things and he fell asleep with Thera cuddling into his chest.

Dante was out cold. His demon sated by the infant on his chest, sleeping peacefully. So peaceful was the house that no one would sense or hear the door to the office slowly unlock and creak open in the late morning. The smell of dew and city smog drifting into the building as soft gentle fingers wrapped around the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrath: Hello everyone! I've added two pages of content to this in the hopes that it will create a smoother story plot. There are a few holes after all that need to be filled before the sequel! Let me know what you think and please don't be afraid to send me comments and messages. I always love hearing from you guys.


	3. Centuries Since Peace

The door creaked open only enough to let through a small figure before shutting silently again. Dante snored softly from his place on the couch while Thera slept soundlessly in his arms. His arms were wrapped protectively around the child and had gotten there when he had shifted in his sleep. Waking up three times in one night can really wear someone out. Now he couldn't hear the audible footsteps on the floor. Even his devil inside was fast asleep. The figure crept closer to the pair on the couch, its mouth formed into a small smile before it reached for the baby in warm arms. Dante let out a particularly loud snore and the hands froze, waited a moment, and then went back to reaching for the baby when Dante didn't wake up. A feathery giggle left their lips, brushing white hair out of closed eyes.

"Come here little one..." The figure whispered, the words coming from their mouth like the wind. Just when their hands had pressed against Thera, there was the cocking of a gun. The forms head jerked up in a panic the see Dante still asleep and then the lights flicked on. Blind panic and the figure whirled around. "Wha-"

"Get away now if you don't wanna have a hole in your back." Nero's deep voice came from behind the form. His voice was thick with sleep and anger.

They stood up straight as they looked behind them and red hair fluttered around caramel-colored eyes. Pale skin and a white dress were lit up by the light and Kyrie stood in front of Dante with a shocked look on her face. Nero's eyes widened when he realized who was standing in the middle of the office. Shocked, the finger on the trigger of his gun loosened and his hand wavered. It had been so long. Nearly six years… Nearly six years of no contact. Why was she here?

"Kyrie?" His voice came out confused as well. Kyrie smiled at him and she turned when she heard shuffling behind her to see Dante yawning and holding Thera tighter as he noticed Kyrie standing in front of him. "Why are you here?" Nero asked and Kyrie turned around before walking over to him.

"It's been a while since we've seen each other… so I just came to visit and thought that if I came early I could make breakfast for you." She explained and Nero cocked an eyebrow.

"At ten-thirty AM? Breakfast?" He asked with narrowing eyes and she blushed.

"Y-yeah." She stuttered looking down at the ground. Nero made a sour face. Not contacting him for six years and then lying right out the gate?

"That can't be the only reason." He said and remembering he had his gun pointed at her, he lowered it. Kyrie looked up at him with a big smile not trying to hide anything anymore. What was the point when she was in the same house with two protective demon hunters?

"Lady... came over to ask if I could help with Thera. She said you two might need some help." She finally admitted and Nero sighed as a wave of something akin to relief and surprise took hold of him.

"You could have just told us that... I almost shot you out of reflex." He mumbled the last part to himself as he walked down the stairs the rest of the way and over to Dante, who was standing up from the couch before taking Thera from him. The baby turned into him and he smiled down at her before turning to Kyrie. "It's not every day we have someone walk into Devil May Cry before it opens." He explained and Kyrie fidgeted with her hands nervously.

"Sorry. Lady gave me the key and said you might be asleep." She said simply and he smiled at her. She looked like she was scared and he chuckled at the fact that she had not gotten scolded but seemed to think she had.

"Oh well, if you're making breakfast go on. We just went shopping." He explained and Kyrie smiled back at him for a moment then hurried into the kitchen. Nero turned to Dante who was rubbing kinks out of his shoulders before chuckling for the second time that morning. Dante looked at him, irritation at seeing that woman making his neck and shoulders hurt worse.

"What?" Dante asked and Nero shook his head, his own head of silver hair falling into his eyes. Absentmindedly he thought of how it needed a trim before he responded.

"Maybe you should sleep with Thera from now on. It looks like you're her 'off button'." He said before smirked. Dante grinned at him and walked over to his desk in that famous uncaring way of his.

"You're just jealous because you're not a chick magnet like me." He said and Nero rolled his eyes his whole demeanor showing he honestly wasn't amused at Dante's comment.

"If I was then at least I'd know how to control it," Nero said and Dante chuckled.

"Kid, I am controlling it." He said and Nero growled in irritation before turning for the stairs.

"I'm going to put her to bed before getting a shower and grabbing the baby monitor. Don't flirt with Kyrie while I'm gone." He said pointedly and Dante made an amused sound. As Nero glanced down at him, he saw Dante's cocky look.

"Not with your dear older sister, why would I do that baby?" He said and chuckled.

Nero fought the blush growing up his cheeks at the way he had said 'baby' and walked down the hall to Thera's room silently, making sure not to bounce too much so he didn't wake her up. When he entered her room he stopped in the doorway and looked around the room silently. Barren except for her crib and the rocking chair, they would have to get furniture at some point. Breaking away from his thoughts, Nero made his way over to her crib. He gently put her in her crib, draping the blanket around her that was piled at the end of the crib before running his fingers over her forehead gently and exiting the room. He shut the door behind him quietly and let his hand fall to his side, looking at it in a kind of surreal moment. His mind swam with the events of the last 24 hours. Failing his last mission, almost dying trying to kill the rest of some shadows. Then hiking his way back to Devil May Cry and finding the baby on the way home. Needing to get things for the baby at three in the morning. Putting together a crib. Learning how to prepare formula and change a diaper. All in one day. With only three hours of sleep in the last three days. He put his human hand over his devil bringer and felt it's warmth radiate back at him. Walking down the hall he entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him before stripping and turning on the shower. Inspecting his devil bringer closer, it hummed lowly with happy energy. Taking a small breath in, he smelled the steam coming from the shower. A small smile graced his features and he slipped behind the curtain. Once he got in, the scalding water hit his skin and he let the breath out he had been holding. Taking in the heat of the water against his back, Nero leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. Exhaustion overwhelmed him, seeping into his muscles like the water through his hair.

'I've been through a lot, but raising a baby isn't something I wanted to do. I already have one big baby downstairs to take care of.' He thought to himself and straightened so he could take a decent shower.

Dante put his magazine down with a smirk once he heard the shower start and looked toward the kitchen. Before he could even open his mouth Kyrie was calling for him. Rolling his eyes and dropping his smirk he huffed.

"What d'ya want hun?" He called back and Kyrie came out from the kitchen with a spoon in her hand. Disapproval was plastered all over her face.

"Don't call me that." She stated with a frown while pointing the spoon at him before turning. "I can't cook for all three of us by myself." She said and walked back into the kitchen. "Come help me." She called disappearing through the doors and Dante frowned.

'So much for visiting Nero while he's in the shower.' He thought curtly before standing and walking to the kitchen. 'My sex life is going to be dead at this rate.' He thought with a defeated look as he strode into the kitchen to help Kyrie.

Ten minutes later and Nero stepped out of the shower feeling like he had slept for two weeks. He stretched and grabbed his towel before shaking out is hair and towel drying it before wrapping the towel around his waist and exiting the bathroom into the chilled air.

'It's cold out here. Need to have the heater fixed.' Nero thought to himself as he walked down the hall to his and Dante's room to get his clothes. His body slowly cooled off before he slipped into a pair of black jeans and a dark blue V-neck T-shirt. He shook out his hair again to get rid of any tangles before grabbing the baby monitor and heading back downstairs.

He really was surprised that Kyrie was here and even more surprised that Lady and Trish would even consider asking her to help with the baby. The last time Trish had talked with Kyrie it was the day they had come over to Devil May Cry to ask Dante if he could move in. Nero was sick and tired. Three days of travel with bad fever and feeling like he would die. Nero had insisted that Kyrie stay in Fortuna since they were no longer dating and she was only back in town for the holy day, but she ignored his arguing and went with him anyway to make sure he was feeling well. Trish had been staking out Dante's office at the time and was fighting with Dante over when he was going to get his debt paid off as soon as he got out of his car. Kyrie had gone off on Trish, saying things like 'everyone is having a hard time right now' and 'just because you're not having money trouble doesn't mean he isn't' and they just never got along after that. Of course, once Kyrie had figured out how utterly lazy Dante was she regretted saying the things that she did.

Nero's thoughts were cut off as the tantalizing smell of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast filled his nose when he entered the office from the stairs. Dante burst out of the kitchen holding his hand and yelling curses while Kyrie followed in his path. Dante looked pained but mostly annoyed while Kyrie looked deeply concerned. Nero stopped at the bottom of the stairs looking around at them with a confused look.

"I told you my hand is fine!" He grounded out through his teeth and Kyrie tried to walk around him to look at it. Of course, Dante already knew the answer seeing as how they were cooking on it at the moment, but he was still pissed.

"But you put your entire hand on the burner!" Kyrie squealed and Dante inclined his head to look at Nero who had just made himself fully visible around the stairs.

"Nero, you're cooking whenever we need to cook." He hissed through his teeth and clenched his hand shut before shaking it and straightening. Nero caught a glimpse of Dante's hand as he let it rest at his side. The skin had been peeled off, leaving only the sensitive nerve underneath in a corkscrew shape. "It's fine Kyrie, just go, cook." He told her in an irritated voice as he was more irritated at her than the pain in his hand.

Kyrie flinched at his voice, the hurt clear in her eyes but went back to the kitchen none-the-less. Nero shook his head at the two of them before walking up to Dante and taking the older half-demons' hand gently in his human hand. He flipped it over to see the burns on his palm before sighing. His fingers ghosted over them, not making contact with the skin. Looking into Dante's eyes, he could tell having to cook with Kyrie had really gotten on his nerves.

"You're amazing. How do you not know how to use a stove?" Nero asked Dante shrugged.

"I didn't even know we had one until Kyrie showed me." This caused Nero to give him a skeptical look before turning on his heels and pulling Dante along by his wrist.

"Well just sit down and watch the baby monitor while I help Kyrie finish cooking." He said nearly tossing Dante into his desk chair and setting the monitor down on the desk before kissing Dante's cheek and hand before leaving. Dante blinked in confusion before shrugging.

"Whatever you say, kid." He said nonchalantly before picking up a guitar magazine and flipping it open to a random page.

A few minutes passed with just the distant sound of bacon sizzling on the stove before Nero burst out laughing and Kyrie yelling.

"Watch where you fling butter, Nero! I don't need greasy hair for the rest of the day!" She yelled and Nero only laughed harder.

"Sorry… sorry, I'll... Pffft try to get it out." Nero said trying to stifle his giggles.

Dante smiled at them, after their fallout five years ago he doubted he'd ever see them like this again. Not to mention the nagging need to be with each other as much as possible. Their demon sides were like that, that need to be near their mate constantly.

Dante frowned at the memory of when Nero needed to go halfway across the freaking earth for a job that had ended with a warm welcome home on Christmas day and a lot of sex. During the time that Nero had been away, he hadn't felt like doing anything really but sitting around and moping, hoping he'd get a call from his mate telling him that he'd be home within a day like he usually did. But those five months Nero was away had been like Dante's own little hell. He had only taken a few jobs out of the ten that he had received and hadn't taken any of the jobs that Lady and Trish had offered. By the end of the five months, both women had been sympathetic toward the half-demon. Even Nero's smell had completely left the office by the second month and no matter how much Dante thought it wouldn't get to him, sitting in his office by himself without even the smell of his mate made his demon side nervous and jittery.

So this was one of those few moments that he was glad Nero could laugh freely and be close to him without having to worry about him going on any long trips.

The phone rang suddenly, taking him from his thoughts and he sighed before kicking his legs up on the desk, causing the phone to fly up and into his awaiting hand.

"Devil May Cry." He responded to the phone.

"Looking for any jobs recently?" Lady's voice came from the other end.

"If I wasn't, do you think I'd answer the phone?" Dante asked languidly, tossing his magazine onto the desk and putting his free hand behind his head. "What do you have this time?" He asked and Lady chuckled.

"Just a regular job, the downtown has been having some trouble with a water demon." Lady paused for a second. "Well, actually it's more of a mermaid." She said and Dante dropped his legs on the floor causing the chair to hit the floor with a loud cracking sound.

"A mermaid? Lady if you're bullshittin' me again-" Dante said and Lady cut him off at the legs.

"Why the hell would I bullshit you on a job that you could get done in an hour?" She asked and Dante scoffed.

"You've pulled more on less before." He ground out and Lady sighed in irritation.

"Do you want the job or not?" She asked and Dante leaned back in his chair, putting his head back.

"Chill out Lady I was only fuckin' with you," He said in an apologetic tone and Lady made an irritated sound. "Look, give me more details and I'll see." He tried to come to an agreement with her and she sighed, wondering why she worked with him when he was always so difficult.

"This wet bitch has been killing every guy that comes into one of the gyms pool down in the finest outskirts. Either you or Nero can take the job, but I'm not sure he's ready for this one." Lady informed and Dante just shrugged even if Lady couldn't see it.

"Nero's gotten better, he's good enough to take jobs like that. I'll ask him what he wants to do, but the 'wet bitch' doesn't sound that interesting to me." He said and tossed the phone so it landed back in its place on the desk. It clattered and stopped suddenly, filling the room with silence once again. Leaning forward, his hand raised to pick up his magazine again when Nero walked through the door of the kitchen holding two heaping plates of food.

"Who was that on the phone?" Nero asked and he put the plate on the desk. Dante eyed the food hungrily and caught the fork Nero tossed at him.

"Lady, just offering you a job," Dante explained and Nero cocked his head to the side in question before he realized and a judging face took over.

"A job for me? Or one that was too boring for you?" He asked seriously as Dante shoveled some food into his mouth. He swallowed before answering.

"That's what I said, kid. You're gonna be taking down your first mermaid." He said pointing the fork at Nero. Nero in return, blinked, nonplussed.

"You're kidding me, right? A mermaid? You mean one of those things that has a human half and giant fin?" He asked and Dante smirked at him. Oh, the things the younger devil hunter needed to learn.

"Mermaids are hot babes in the demon world who'll eat male demons for every meal." He said and sat back in his seat. "The thing lives in water; it seduces guys who get near enough that it can touch 'em. And once that guy's too high on his own hard-on, she kills and eats 'em." He explained and Nero scrunched his nose before looking down at his suddenly unappealing food.

"And you want me to do this job." He started giving the other man a questioning and disbelieving look. Dante shrugged.

"Lady told me it was up to either of us, just seems boring to me. You know I don't get excited by easy women. Thought I'd tell you but to me, it seems like it would be too much for you." He said and Nero glared at him.

"I've done harder stuff before." He said and Dante grinned a Cheshire cat grin. A blush burned on his face as he realized what he had said and the implications that went along with it. Before he could correct himself, Dante let out a laugh.

"I know," Dante said in a suggestive way which made Nero blush.

"Old man!" Nero yelled as Kyrie came out of the kitchen with her plate. Her questioning gaze was ignored as Nero continued. "That's not what I meant." He said and forked his food around his plate. "I've taken harder jobs before." He restated and Dante chuckled, amused at the frustration of his partner.

"I know. I know. Just messin' with ya kid. So you wanna do it?" He asked and Nero looked up with a glare at the innuendo.

"If we get money for it, of course." He said as Dante shoveled more food down. "Besides, we can't be that picky with all your debts adding up." He said and Dante shrugged his statement off. Kyrie sat down on the couch next to Nero and smiled.

"I think doing as many jobs as possible would be a great thing to do. Especially now that you have Thera." She said and both Nero and Dante looked at her before they burst out laughing. Nero was the first to regain his composure.

"Kyrie, don't worry about it.. okay?" Nero said after he had settled down again. She looked at him in question and he shook his head. "You, agreeing to that kind of job is something I thought I'd never see." He said before turning to Dante. "You're on, old man." He said and Dante chuckled before they got down to really eating their food.

Once they were done Kyrie took their dishes into the kitchen and set them in the sink before turning the knob so that water would come streaming out. But none did.

"Dante?" Kyrie called from the kitchen.

"Yeah?" He called back.

"The water isn't working." She called and Dante let his head fall back against his chair.

"Fuck, I forgot to pay the water bill." He said and Nero slowly grinned which turned into a chortle.

"At least I got to take a shower." He said smugly and Dante rolled his eyes at the young adult.

"Don't push yourself kid. You have a job later; you know how messy those can get." Dante said and Nero grimaced before gurgling came from the baby monitor. Nero grinned.

"That just means that you and Kyrie are going to have to take care of Thera while I'm gone," Nero said getting up from his seat.

"Wait, together?" Dante said and Nero nodded. "I just cooked with her for an hour!" He exclaimed and Nero snickered.

"I know, and while you're home here being lazy I get to bust my ass. Deal with it." He said finally as he made his way upstairs. Dante sighed and rubbed the back of his head, leaning back in his chair again and looking up at the ceiling.

'He knows I don't like Kyrie.' He thought to himself as Kyrie came out of the kitchen and smiled at him.

"Are you alright? Do you need any help taking care of Thera while Nero is doing his job?" She asked and Dante sat forward arms in the desk in front of him.

"No, taking care of that kid isn't that hard." He said flatly and she frowned.

"Alright, but if you're having trouble please tell me. That's why I'm here after all." She said and Dante merely nodded. Kyrie made her way over to the couch, standing in place for what seemed like forever before she righted the two pillows that were that she looked over at Dante. The devil hunter was looking at a different magazine now, having finished the other. He hadn't noticed her moving the pillows. Becoming a bit more daring, she started to pick up pizza boxes. She got those picked up and was taking them into the kitchen when Dante sighed irritated at her actions.

He had never really liked her from the start. An overly sensitive woman, completely opposite of himself. Always cleaning, always anxious. Once he figured out she was a clean freak, well their lifestyles just did not match. He liked things to pile up before he cleaned the house and things for her needed to be in the exact place for her. The last thing that really pissed him off was when she touched the picture of his mother.

She had been cleaning his house the last time she came down here and while he was in the kitchen getting pizza she had taken liberty upon herself to touch everything on his desk, including the picture of his mother. He was livid with her because she had not only picked it up and walked around with it, but she ended up dropping it and shattering the glass on the front. His human side wouldn't have been that pissed, but because of his half-demon blood, the possessiveness over his 'family'-well the picture of his family- had taken full-on fury at the poor girl. He had not only yelled at her but made her cry, and thank god Nero wasn't around for that. Now he didn't like the girl at all. Trish had to take him out of the office that day to cool off. A new glass pane was bought to replace the broken one, but the principle still applies. And now that Kyrie was cleaning the drum set that had clothing laying all over it, he'd had well more than enough. His domain, his territory was being messed with. His demon was getting aggressive now.

With a deep breath, Dante stood from his chair and walked slowly but tensely to the stairs. His body was taught as a wire as he started up them. Seeing this Kyrie turned and sighed, watching him climb the stairs in silent anger before disappearing into the upstairs hallway. She looked around the messy office and shook her head before setting down the beer cans she had picked up and sat down on the couch, looking awkwardly around for the remote. The last time she had come here to visit Nero had shown her how to use the television, even just the basic power button and channel up and down. Seeing it on the end of the couch arm she picked it up and turned the TV on, turning down the volume when she heard it blasting. Maybe some TV would help calm her down?

Upstairs Dante entered Thera's room silently. An odd feeling of warmth filled Dante when he saw Nero changing the Thera on the changing table they had brought up last night. Who knew that someone who was so young could possibly take care of such a tiny thing? Dante had lost track of how long he'd been in this world. Had it been a century since he'd created this city? Or a century since he started his mercenary work as Tony Redgraves? He was certainly many decades older than Nero was and yet somehow this young boy was taking care of something even younger. Dante blinked, breaking himself from his thoughts. His feet carried him silently to Nero. Low and even his demon purred. It was a comfort to know that Nero's demon still reacted with the same pleasing purring of its own. Carefully, slowly Dante put his arms around the young demon's waist causing the younger devil hunter to hum in happiness and lean against the older demon. Then, sensing Dante's lingering anger he turned from changing Thera to look him in the eye.

"Was she cleaning again?" He asked and Dante rolled his eyes.

"She was doing everything again. She's like another mother that I don't want." He explained in an exasperated tone. Nero chuckled softly putting Thera in her crib again before turning back to Dante. With a gentle smile, Nero lifted both hands, gently but firmly taking Dante's face in them. The tenderness was new to Dante and it gave him goosebumps. It had been a long while since he'd had those.

"I'm sorry you have to deal with her, but you're really not used to Thera yet and I just want to make sure that if you can't figure something out then she'll be there to help," Nero explained earnestly. Slowly he reached up to bring their faces together to lightly press his lips against Dante's. Dante breathed in deeply at the contact. He had really truly missed the feeling of Nero being so close. Needing the feeling of his mate close. Skin to skin. Lips to lips he pulled Nero closer to him, pressing his lips harder against Nero's. He couldn't handle not being able to have his way with his lover when his tongue darted out and licked along his mates lips, nibbling to tease him. Mind-numbing pleasure swept through them. It had been too long. Nero groaned at this and wrapped his arms around Dante's neck, pulling the other closer and licking his lower lip. More electricity through their bodies. Dante's mouth opened for the younger one's tongue to explore while his hands traveled up the other's shirt. Nero suddenly remembered they were in the baby's room and pulled away, pushing Dante back by the shoulders. Dante pouted as they looked heatedly at each other, catching their breath.

"I have to finish changing Thera, and you know we can't do that while Kyrie is here." Nero scolded and Dante scoffed, moving in again.

"She won't be able to hear us if I send her out to pay my water bill. The water might even be on to take a shower together afterward." Dante mused and Nero rolled his eyes before turning away and back to Thera. The child cooed and threw her hand out, startling herself. Nero picked up her pacifier before she could scream, calming her then and there.

"Don't be like that old man." He mumbled and Dante chuckled at his flustered mate.

"But I will seriously send her out to pay my water bill if I have to." He said and took Nero's hips in his hands before nuzzling the young adult's neck. "I don't want to have to wait weeks before I just jump you." He chuckled then remembering every time afterward when they had always waited long periods of time. "That's never fun for you." He said and Nero blushed before turning with Thera in his arms.

"Go put her downstairs in the playpen and do what you want; I'm going to get ready for my next job." He said and pecked Dante on the lips before giving him Thera and exiting her room. Dante blinked and looked down at Thera.

"Somehow I feel like I just got cheated out of the good part of this relationship." He said to her and she giggled up at him. He again resigned himself to parenthood and went downstairs before setting her in her playpen and nearly throwing himself into his chair behind his desk. "When am I gonna live again?" He mumbled and Kyrie looked over from her show to smile at him.

"I'm sorry, what?" She asked and he waved his hand in disregard to her. "O-okay." She said and went back to her show. Nero came clomping down the stairs minutes later with Blue Rose and Red Queen strapped closely to his body. She gave him a gentle smile before he noticed her and grinned back. "Good luck." She said and he nodded.

"See ya when ya get back kid," Dante said and Nero huffed with a blush.

"Yeah, see ya old man." He said shortly waving behind his back as he exited the building. "I'm borrowing your bike." He said and Dante let his feet fall to the ground before throwing him the keys he'd produced out of his pocket.

"Don't hurt her; I don't want to have to give her another paint job again," Dante said in return and Nero merely caught the keys before waving and letting the door close behind him. Dante shook his head. "Kids getting cockier every day." He said and Kyrie chuckled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! The third chapter has been updated! More kissing, sexual tension, you know. The good stuff. Plus Thera is finally settling in. I hope you all enjoy this edit. Feel free to message with any questions. This is only the beginning of everything!


	4. World of Decay

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Time went by slowly for the red-clad devil hunter. The clock on the wall of Dante's office ticked with an empty, hollow sound. The arms mocked him with every second that vibrated past. Boredom gripped him as he looked blankly at the magazine pages in front of him. It only took a half an hour of Nero being gone for Dante to sigh and get up from his chair. He itched to have Nero back here in the office. He wanted Kyrie to leave and he wanted to just ravage the younger demon while the baby slept until neither of them could move. Normally, there wouldn't have been any problem waiting for him to get home. None at all. He usually just relaxed where he was; either took a nap or read his usual magazines with a beer. That was on a normal schedule when they only had local mercenary jobs. Jobs only took an hour or two to finish and he was back home with two or three grand in his pocket. Now though, he wanted to see his mate. His lover. With him having left on a trail of jobs, he'd barely seen Nero. Only twice in five months had he actually gotten to work with him and all the other jobs were out of town. Now though, now looking around, he was genuinely tired of having all of the baby bags all over the room. Baby bags that he didn't want. He loved kids, sure. Other people's kids. He'd never imagined himself as a parent. A father. Someone who actually had to wake up every two hours and feed something that couldn't even talk. Someone who would have to bathe and change that tiny person.

Looking around his messy office, Dante realized that the mess around him wasn't as bad as it used to be. In his young adult years, his office had been a hodgepodge of things that he'd collected on jobs. Most of it had been organized into his basement during a certain holy lady's last visit while he'd been out on a hunt. So long ago now, he'd nearly forgotten about it. The thought brought his gaze over to Kyrie who was fidgeting on the couch. So many things bothering him today. Lots of change. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he just went along with it? So, to fix those problems, he grabbed some bags, dumped them onto the table and turned to Kyrie.

"Come on, help me organize this stuff. You probably want to anyway." He said and Kyrie gave him a nervous smile. Sometimes he couldn't understand why she was so skittish. The woman was old enough already to know the difference between fight or flight and it seemed like all she did was fly.

"Of course." She said and stood up so she could pick up a few bags before putting them on Dante's desk. Well at least that was somewhat of a fight tactic, he guessed. "Do you want to put all of the things that go up to her room in the same bags so we don't have to make extra trips?" She asked and Dante shrugged, not really caring.

So, they began sifting through bags and pulled things out. Dante began a system of asking Kyrie what would need to go upstairs and together they worked in nearly fluid silence. Kyrie emptied one whole bag and gave it to Dante before she began placing things inside the bag. Once that bag was full and a few bags on the desk were emptied, she put the remaining objects into another bag so they could stay down in the office and placed both bags to the side before picking up some more from in front of the TV and repeating the process over again. Dante had to admit, though this was a mind-numbing task if he ever had to do one, once everything was separated he took the seven bags up to Thera's room and Kyrie followed so they could unload them and place them around.

Kyrie put her hands on her hips and turned to the other adult. Her eyes studied his features, calm, serious before they began scanning the rest of the room. "We might need to go out and buy cabinets." Her voice had gotten Dante's attention as he unloaded bags, but he did not turn to meet her gaze as he knelt down to sift through the bags. "You don't even have a table in here, other than the changing table." She finished and Dante looked over at her from taking some diapers out of a plastic bag. His gaze looked puzzled.

"Why would we need more than what Trish already bought?" He asked and she smiled, clearly sympathizing his lapse in knowledge on this topic.

The brunette let out an amused giggle. "You need someplace to put all of this. This is going to be Thera's room from now on. She should at least get the privilege of having some decorations to her room. This place looks blank. At least paint the walls a different color and get some shelves or something. Maybe a picture on the wall?" She offered and this time Dante couldn't help but agree. He didn't know much about children, but there were already so many things floating around the room that they didn't have room for. The closet would only be able to handle so many things.

The room only had-other than the bags they had brought up- the changing table, her crib, and her rocking chair. The furniture from when Nero had lived in it was gone; thrown out with the trash a while ago because he saw no need in keeping them. He wasn't a hotel after all. So he simply nodded and piled the bags out of the way against the wall and stood up.

"So where do you want to go to get the cabinets?" He asked as he exited the room and Kyrie, confused, followed behind.

"We could go to the kids' store in town. I passed it on my way over here this morning. It sells kids furniture." She explained, hearing her footsteps fall on the hardwood before Dante's voice broke the near silence.

"Alright well, it's a good thing that the kid only took my bike and not my car." He said and Kyrie nodded. "It looks like he returned Bobby's car too." He explained mostly to himself and Kyrie looked at him in question but said nothing.

Dante made his way over to Thera once down the stairs. She was on her stomach, gurgling before he picked her up and held her while Kyrie picked up Thera's stroller so she could open it so she could put it together. Dante's amused smirk graced his face before walking over to her and holding out Thera.

"Why don't you put her in a sweater or something and I'll put it together." He asked and she looked up from the confusing contraption before nodding and taking Thera and making her way upstairs to where they had taken the many outfits of winter clothing. Dante shook his head at her and knelt down so he could put the thing together. It wasn't hard, only following directions, which he knew how to do. "Wonder what's takin' her so long." He mumbled to himself as he put the shade flap back on the stroller that was now fully assembled.

Then, footsteps came from the second floor and Dante watched Kyrie come down with Thera in her arms. Thera was dressed in a thick cotton grey and pink striped sweater underneath a fluffy baby pink almost white marshmallow coat with a white fur trim hood. She was also wearing grey sweatpants and little pink shoes over thick cotton socks. Dante raised an eyebrow at the puffy looking child as he saw the child's happy face. The colors contrasted too much which only made her eyes stand out that much more.

"She looked like you stuffed her, who picked out those clothes?" He asked and Kyrie smiled sympathetically.

"Trish did, I suppose. She was the one who went with Nero to shop last night. We can pick up some more if you want." She said and Dante rubbed the back of his neck before nodding.

"She might be a girl but something less frilly would go with this place better." He explained as Kyrie put Thera in the stroller.

"I agree, and it's also snowing outside, you might want to bring an umbrella with us." She explained and Dante looked at her for a moment before turning around.

"I don't have an umbrella. Never needed one." He said and her mouth fell open slightly in shock. The man chose to get soaked rather than keeping himself dry? All to look cool? Could half-demons get sick?

Pressing her thoughts down, she responded. "Okay, well we'll have to get one of those while we're out too. You have enough money, right? To be getting all of this?" She asked skeptically. Dante raised his head and then reached around to grab his wallet from his back pocket. He waves the black leather in her face.

"I have the rest of the money that Nero gave to Trish to pay off my debt. Trish gave it to me for if I ever need anything." He said and Kyrie nodded.

"And how much do you still have?" Kyrie asked and Dante shrugged opening his wallet and counted it and his eyebrows flew up in surprise.

"This kid's been working his ass off," Dante said flipping his wallet closed. "There's about eight grand left in here." He said and Kyrie's eyes widened slightly as well.

"Well your birthday is coming up-" Kyrie said then immediately shut her mouth with a nervous look plastered on her face. The girl really needed to work on keeping her mouth shut.

"How did you know about that?" He asked and before she got the chance to answer Dante smirked and turned away, heading for the car. He knew exactly who had told her. "I'm gonna have to talk to Trish later." He said and Kyrie blushed in embarrassment before pushing Thera's stroller out the door behind Dante, who, for once; was polite enough to hold the door open long enough for the stroller to get through. Kyrie had to push the door closed with her foot. "The place you want to go to is about an hour from here. The kid should get back while we're puttin' this stuff in the house." He explained and Kyrie nodded, even though he couldn't see it.

On their way to the store, they stopped at the store a few blocks up so Kyrie could run in and buy an umbrella before they headed out again. Thera made pleased noises behind them from her place in the car seat as she sucked on a toy Kyrie had brought. It was a stuffed teddy bear with golden fur, a bit too flashy for Dante, but apparently just a normal toy for children in Fortuna. That was just another reason why he couldn't stand the stupid place.

While Dante drove, an uncomfortable silence grew between them. Dante, always the one to ignore situations like this, didn't seem to notice in the least that Kyrie was fidgeting in her seat. He did, however, notice every time she took a look at him, which; Dante wanted to think it was a stroke to his ego but was probably because she was nervous he would blow up at her again. After ten minutes of driving in silence, he sighed.

"Look," He began making her go rigged in his car seat and he sighed. "I don't know what the hell I did but stop being so god damned jumpy. It's annoying." He said and when her shoulders slumped and she still didn't look at him he pulled into an ice cream parlor, his car not slowing down for the turn and Kyrie's face plastered against the window before he stopped in a parking space. "Are you still freaked out because I yelled at you? Because that was nearly six years ago and if you haven't noticed, I don't care anymore." He said and opened the car door. "Stay here, I'll be right back." He said and shut the door before she could protest. Kyrie watched him enter the parlor silently then sighed.

"I know you don't care anymore Dante, but I'm still disappointed in myself for doing something like that to something that was so precious to you." She said quietly to herself and then frowned. "And when it comes to saying something like that, why can't I just say it to people's faces?" She asked herself and rested her forehead against the cool window. She heard Thera making all sorts of vocal noises behind her and she smiled. "Thera, you're quite talkative today, why don't you tell him for me?" Kyrie blushed at her own statement before sighing. "I'm starting to think Dante actually likes, you Thera." She said to herself.

True, Dante stopped complaining about it when he woke up, except for the occasional 'Why did the kid bring you home?' comment, which, truth be told; didn't really have any true curiosity behind it anymore. He just felt the need to complain sometimes. Thera all around was the cutest baby Kyrie had ever seen. The amethyst eyes just made her more adorable, even though the eye color was an odd color for anyone to have, though she had seen odder colors; especially Nero and Dante's hair.

Minutes after, her thoughts had floated off and she fell asleep with her head against the window. Dante entered the car not too long after she'd fallen asleep, holding an ice cream cone and a strawberry sundae. He shook his head at her and gently nudged her with his elbow.

"Hey, wake up." He said and Kyrie jolted awake before looking around tiredly and, noticing Dante now sitting next to her, looked down at the ice cream offered to her. "Take it, my hand is gettin' sticky." He complained halfheartedly and Kyrie took the cone from him. Still drowsy, she licked the ice cream that had melted over the side. "I also thought about it, and you don't have to beat yourself up about what happened. Shit happens." He said before chowing down on his sundae. Kyrie looked down at her vanilla ice cream cone and back to him before she bit the top off. Then she smiled.

"Thank you." Was all she said and Dante wasn't even sure if he heard that as he looked over at her and saw her licking at the ice cream happily.

After Dante had finished his sundae they set off again, going into the main city and passing by the tallest skyscraper in the whole city. Kyrie looked out the window with fascinated eyes, her head craned back to try and look at the top of the buildings. Dante just shook his head at her, stopping at a red light. Pictures of what this town looked like a little over 100 years ago filtered through his mind. He broke from his thoughts as Thera threw the teddy bear up into the front, making it land right in the middle of them. Dante looked down before back at Thera, who's eyes were shining, or at least they seemed to be; in anger. Dante's brows creased together before he looked at the bear again and noticed that the bear was no longer gold, but a dull brown color.

"The fuck?" He asked and picked up the bear. Kyrie turned to look from outside and her eyes widened at the bear.

"What did you do to it?" She asked and Dante shook his head.

"I didn't do anything to it." He countered and looked back at Thera who was now happily giggling again. "She threw it up here like this." He explained and Kyrie looked back at Thera with questioning eyes. "You sure this thing was really gold?" He asked and Kyrie nodded.

"Yeah, I brought it from home. It was my bear before I grew too old for it. Fortuna doesn't approve of playing with toys when you get too old for them." She explained and he rolled his eyes in irritation.

"Okay well then how the hell did it turn brown then and why does it feel dried out and hard?" He asked and Kyrie shrugged. Thera cooed happily when Dante threw it into the back on the floor. She seemed honestly happy it wasn't anywhere near her now. "Seems like she didn't like it anyway." He said and the car moved forward again when the light turned green.

They drove in silence most of the way there, occasionally hearing Thera make odd noises of happiness as she played with imaginary shapes in the sky. Dante knew why it had turned brown like that. Or at least, he had a pretty good guess. If the color of her eyes was anything, she was probably a type of demon, but he didn't want Kyrie knowing that. He would have to confirm his suspicions when he had the chance. Nero had said she was a new demon mystery after all. That hadn't changed.

They arrived at the store a half an hour later, Dante occasionally glancing back at Thera through his rearview mirror. He pulled into a spot closest to the door and got out, shuddering at the cold air hitting his barely covered form. Leather only made the body so warm. Thinking back, he should have grabbed his thermal undershirt before leaving the house. Kyrie got Thera out of the back and Dante took out the baby carrier from the trunk before setting Thera in it and covering it with a blanket so the snow didn't get in her eyes. Thera made a happy squeal under the blanket.

"So we're getting just cabinets? Or did you want to look at something else?" He asked as Kyrie picked Thera's carrier up from the car trunk and they made their way inside.

"I thought we'd look at the cabinets and maybe get some shelves as well." She explained and he nodded, contemplating on how much they would be able to fit into the room without it looking crowded.

"That's fine." He said walking into the warm store and someone in the store greeted them with a warm smile.

"Welcome to children's housing, what are you looking for today?" The middle-aged man said and his smile wavered when he saw Dante's face. It's not his fault; Dante just has that way about him that makes him unapproachable. Kyrie smiled and held the gurgling Thera in her arms. The man turned to her with a more confident smile.

"We're looking for a few cabinets and shelves." She explained and the man's smile grew.

"Okay, what kind of shelves?" He asked and began walking in a different direction. Kyrie followed.

"Something to keep newborn items in, like diapers or clothing." She said and the man nodded.

"Well lucky for you we just got a new shipment of items. They're even new to this store. We've never gotten this brand before." He said and went down an aisle. They followed, Dante at the back and Kyrie following eagerly in the middle. "Is the baby a boy or a girl?" He asked and Kyrie thought for a second.

"It's a girl, but we don't really want anything pink and frilly. More neutral." She said and the man nodded understandingly as he glanced back at Dante's smirk.

"Okay, well we have quite a selection for neutral then." He said and stopped in the middle of the aisle. "These are the cabinets we just got in over here." He said and put his hand on the blue cabinet. "These ones go above tables and children's cubbies." He said and Kyrie looked at Dante who shook his head. The man nodded. "If you're looking for darker colors this is your best bet." He said and walked a few steps before pointing with his foot. "These are durable and have a light cherry paint of them." He said and Dante tipped his head to the side before looking at the man expectantly. The man swallowed. "These also go over tables and the cubbies but they have doors instead of drawers." He said opening the door to show different compartments. Kyrie smiled.

"Do you have anything orange?" She asked and Dante looked at her like she had two heads.

"Kyrie if you make me buy orange anything for her you're never visiting again." He threatened and she pouted.

"But with the two of you taking care of her, she's never going to have any color in her room." She said and the man behind them smiled.

"Oh, you aren't the mother?" He asked and Dante fought the urge to bark a laugh. Instead, he huffed and averted his gaze. Kyrie gave him a scolding gaze before turning to the man.

"No, I'm just keeping an eye on these two while the other parent is away." She said and the man nodded.

"Well if you're looking for different colors, why not just take a look around. Most of our products are sturdy and will last longer than most. The ones that I don't recommend are the ones in the very front of the aisle. The plain white ones up there have been having problems lately." He said smiling kindly. "Just come get me when you're ready to look at the shelves." He said and turned around to leave.

"Thank you," Kyrie called as he left the isle. Then she turned to Dante. "You even manage to scare away salespeople." She said in a scolding voice before sighing and turning to the cabinets again. "Look around, find one you like. I'll point any that I like out for you if you want." She said and sat down in one of the kiddy chairs that were conveniently placed on the other side of the aisle. Dante rolled his eyes at the girl but went about looking at the cabinets.

It's not like he hated going shopping, but doing this sort of shopping was not his style. He would be more comfortable with just going to a regular furniture shop. All this cutesy stuff was getting under his skin. Now he kind of felt bad for making Nero goes into the worst store that he could've entered, it was like baby express was his personal hell. Well, one of them anyway.

Just then one of the selves caught his eye. It was a dark strawberry color, almost cherry but it had a gold etching on it, like something Kyrie or Nero would have in their kitchen, but still managed to look like a kid's piece. He walked over to it, crouched down to look at the bottom shelf and started to mess with it. He pulled open the door, which already had the child safety part put on so kids couldn't get into it without the parents' help. He pulled out the drawers which also had the safety and even had little gold etched knobs so it was easier to pull out. He looked at the woodwork on the top and bottom, feeling for any sharp edges before nodding and standing up.

"This one'll do." He said shortly and Kyrie looked up from playing with Thera so she could look at what he had found. Her smile was so wide it looked like it hurt.

"That's perfect." She said and turned Thera around so she could show her. Thera smiled her toothless grin and laughed. "I think she likes it." She said and Dante nodded.

"Okay, I'll go get the guy, you stay here." He said and she nodded.

Dante shoved his hands into his pockets and went in the direction that the salesman went in. It only took him a few minutes to find him three isles down price checking things. When the man saw him he smiled a little nervously.

"Did you find the one you want?" He asked and Dante nodded. The man stood up then. "Okay, and you said you also wanted shelves?" He asked and Dante nodded at that too.

"Something that reaches the floor," Dante explained and the man nodded.

"Well let's go to the front and get a flatbed to collect your cabinets first." The man said and Dante nodded.

When they had gotten back to the isle Kyrie was in Dante saw her feeding Thera with a bottle they had brought along in a baby bag. She looked up and smiled at him before standing with Thera in her arms.

"She was hungry so I took the distilled water and formula in the bag and warmed it under the faucet in the bathroom." She said and Dante nodded. The man loaded the few cabinets of the same design onto the cart before he turned to them.

"The Shelves are the next aisle over." He said leading them to it while pushing the cart. When they got there Dante looked down the long aisle at them all. "Seeing what you picked out for the Cabinet, you might want something like the shelves down here." He said and walked down the aisle until they came to a pair of shelves.

The first shelf was a simple ivory shelf with gold etchings of music notes. Half notes, eighth notes and various different types of rests and other notes were scattered around music bars that crawled up the sides of the shelves. It looked almost like a bookcase but there was no top to it and the shelves were to be screwed into the wall. The second shelf was ebony with the same engravings in gold only it was a little taller than the ivory one.

'Ebony and Ivory, how ironic.' Dante thought, smirking to himself. Kyrie beamed at them and looked over at Dante.

"What do you think? I think they'd look great in her room." She said and Dante nodded.

"Why not?" Was all he said and Kyrie nodded to the salesman. The man put two boxes onto the cart and nodded to them.

"These'll need to be assembled, but the cabinets go as they come." He explained and Dante nodded.

They headed up to the register and the woman their greeted them with a smile. This store seemed to be all smiles. Another thing that made Dante hate this place. Thank god he wasn't coming back to this place within the next three years. He'd kill something if he had to come back here too soon. ...Well, he was probably going to have to kill something anyway because of his job but, besides that. The woman rang their things up before the total sprung up on the register.

"That'll be one thousand two hundred and thirty-seven dollars." She told Dante and with a disbelieving look, took out his wallet to give her the rough amount.

"Keep the change." He told her and she gave him a surprised look but nodded and put the changed in a saucer with the rest of the piling pennies, dimes, nickels, and quarters.

"Have a nice day." The woman said and Dante waved behind him before they disappeared through the open door.

The sun shone brightly down at them and Dante knew it was about noon when they reached his car to put the furniture inside it. The snow had piled up on the roof of his car and they stepped through about a foot of snow to the trunk.

"I don't know how much we can fit in the trunk," Dante said and Kyrie chuckled.

"Well, we still have the back seat." She said and Dante shrugged.

While Dante loaded the car, Kyrie put Thera back in her car seat, strapping her in and covering her in a blanket. Thera's amethyst eyes fluttered shut and she reached for Kyrie blindly before her hands lay on her lap and she was sound asleep. Carefully Kyrie closed the door as Dante shut the trunk and opened the back seat door to put the cabinets in the back seat.

"The kid asleep?" He asked and Kyrie nodded as she opened the door to the passenger side to get in.

"She's had a long morning," Kyrie said and couldn't help the chuckle that slipped from her lips. Dante smiled at that before he went to return the cart and got in himself.

"Well, now that there's snow all over the road I don't know how long it'll take for us to get home. People in this city don't know how to drive in this weather." Dante grumbled while mumbling even more expletives to himself. Kyrie looked nervously out the window.

The ride home was silent except for the radio Dante turned on and turned it to the front before setting it on a low volume. He changed the channel to blues and then they both looked out the windshield; one for driving and the other out of habit. When they got home Dante took in both cabinets, carrying one in each hand before going back for the boxes. Kyrie, on the other hand, brought in Thera, carrying her in the carrier and the stroller in each hand before setting the stroller against the wall and carrying Thera upstairs. She carefully undressed her, put her in her pajamas and held her close to her chest. The feeling of the newborn breathing against her made her heart well with warm happiness.

"You really are adorable," Kyrie whispered to the sleeping child. "Nero and Dante are lucky to have you as their child now. I'm glad Nero has the life he does now. He doesn't belong in Fortuna." Kyrie placed a gentle kiss on the child's head, pulling back with a sad, gentle smile. "His personality just runs in the opposite direction that Fortuna does. He belongs here with you and Dante. I'm sure you would be a wonderful family." She said and Thera started to suck her thumb. At this Kyrie put her in her crib and went over to the baby bag, fishing out a pacifier before popping it in the child's mouth. "Now I just have to find someone that I can love." She said and smiled to herself before she heard Dante's shoes clomping on the stairs.

"Did you put her down for a nap?" He asked and Kyrie nodded. "Okay well let me set this up before we put the rest of the stuff away." He said quietly putting the boxes down. "We can put the cabinets up when she gets up." He explained and Kyrie nodded in agreement before smiling. Yeah, Dante and Nero would make great fathers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrath: Hello again everyone! Thanks to the individual who told me the second chapter was corrupted. I'm proud of how far my writing has come, but I know that not all stories are 1000% perfect. Let me know what you think and I'll be uploading the next few chapters as well!


	5. The First Seal Opens

Warmth surrounded Nero as he entered the gym building silently, his footsteps inaudible to the human ear, hoping that the people had all filed out when he had told them to. He wouldn't have been surprised to find some pair of teenagers making out in the bathroom or some old people who couldn't hear to get the memo. It was always something that he worried about during missions. Human casualties. A lot of the time they were inevitable, others, people were just plain stupid. When he came up to the gym pool room he spotted a keep out sign on the door, it's brightly colored writing on black paper was nearly blinding but he could still tell what it was. He rolled his eyes and stopped in front of it, taking out Blue Rose.

"Like a keep out sign is gonna keep teenagers out of the pool." He said and gently pushed the door open, his gun by his side, finger on the trigger. He slowed his breathing so he could hear everything that came out of the room in front of him. "Come out come out, wherever the fuck you are," Nero stated in a bored tone.

A high pitched giggle rang out through the room as he took a few steps inside the room. The chilling giggle sent a tingling down his spine and he glowered at the uncomfortable feeling. Indeed the sensation might have felt good if it was with Dante, hell it would've made his head reel. But with the high pitch of the voice, it just made him disgusted. Dante was right to warn him about the mermaid. Now if he would just listen to the old man... maybe he would get through each job with fewer injuries...

"Another boy has come for a swim?" There was another giggle. Then there was a pause before it made an appreciative sound. "But it seems like you like playing rough." The melodious voice rang out and Nero could smell the disgusting scent of demon everywhere. It was nearly overpowering, which meant that it had been here for quite some time. How the hell long did they let this thing dwell here before they realized it was killing people?

His senses were so sharp, every ripple of water, every drop that hit the concrete, every slight scrape nearly made him jump. His eyes scanned the room, seeing nothing but water from the pool and the occasional floater or pool noodle around said pool. The lights were on in the room, giving it a blue glow. Seeing as the room had no windows it was quite dark. Even the main lights on the ceiling weren't on. Why hadn't they turned the lights on above? Well, the cheap bastards didn't want to waste any more electricity than they needed, which only made this job all the more difficult. His eyesight was nearly perfect in the darkness considering he had devil blood running through his veins, but the blue waves of the water reflected onto the walls, making everything seem like it was moving. Seasick much?

"I like more than playing rough," Nero said in a low rough voice and took a few more steps into the room, feeling confident in his ability to keep himself under control. "I like it so rough; most can't walk in the morning." He said and his face broke out in a grin. The mermaid laughed a fluttery laugh. It caused a chill to creep up his spine and settle in his head. It made him nauseous. Nero's grin never faltered, keeping his composure.

"Oh? Should I be looking forward to something?" The mermaid asked and Nero shrugged from his place in front of the open door.

"You might, but I can't give anything to you unless you come onto land." He said in a nonchalant way. He normally didn't play like Dante did but what better way to get a love demon from the sea onto land then acting like him. He always attracted weird people. The mermaid made a chastising noise from behind Nero and he whirled around so he could see her.

But she wasn't there.

"You know how my kind are, don't you boy?" The mermaid asked. Nero snorted.

"If I didn't I'd be in big trouble, now wouldn't I?" He asked and took the remainder of his steps until he was standing near the edge of the pool. "How's that? Better for the seductress of the sea?" He asked and the mermaid giggled.

"Oh, you flatter me. But I am surprised." She said and Nero paused, but when she didn't explain her awe he glanced behind him before looking back at the pool.

"Why is that? Do people like me not come around often?" He questioned and he heard her chuckle.

"You could say that, but I say; I've never seen someone with so much beauty." She said and with the last word, he felt the coldness of a hand on his neck.

Immediately after her hand had connected he felt the heat. The heat flowed from where she touched and poured through his head and down his neck. It was like her hand had opened a channel of fire in his brain and it began flowing through his body. Tendrils of flame licked at every nerve ending. The feeling was like being rolled in a fiery blanket of silk and his knees suddenly felt weak. Despite this, his arm swung around, trying to pistol whip the demon but unfortunately hitting nothing but air. Inevitably the mermaid had to let go so it didn't get hit, and the cold air met the place where her hand had been. The feeling stopped and Nero was left panting, the heat from before now centering on his groin. The rest of him felt unnaturally cold. This caused Nero to shiver and his member throbbed with it.

"Bitch." Was all he said and the mermaid whined.

"Now, now, don't be like that. I'm only doing what you said." She complained and her voice sounded like it was all around him, his head constantly spinning to find out where she was. "I'm on land like you wanted." She said and this time when Nero turned she was right in front of him, her hands outstretched towards him. He stood frozen in place with his gun pointed at her. The double-barreled gun covered up half of her face where he had aimed to shoot.

He was struck by her beauty. He knew that, from what Dante had told him; the mermaid would be pretty, but he had no idea the mermaid would be this beautiful. She had luscious deep auburn hair that reached her hips. It shone in the darkened area like the sun, veiling her in a curtain of gold. Even wet, it seemed to float around her like it was weightless. Her eyes glittered like the waves of the sea, beautiful sea green with a hint of blue and her skin was a finely tanned color that shined and sparkled with the moving water. Despite this Nero just gave her a bored look before a smirk broke out on his face again.

"See? Even a bitch can listen." He teased, which made her eyes narrow ever so slightly.

The mermaid got closer, her hands skimming over his jaw now, and that warmth from before exploded in his head once again, starting at his head and making its way down to his groin. He forced himself not to moan as her hands slipped under his ears and around his neck. Her face got closer and before he could regain his composure she was kissing him. Her lips felt gentle but slippery and gooey like she has put some type of slime on them. The heat from before increased. It burned under her lips, in his stomach, and as his eyes were forced closed it burned behind them too. He couldn't help the groan that left him and a picture of Dante doing this ripped another, darker one from his throat. She let go of his mouth, running her lips along his jaw and down his neck. He couldn't move at all, he was frozen. He was paralyzed by the heat that she was forcing on him. His body quivered as every touch made his erection throb in delight. It made him hot and angry; hot because she could start the fire within him and angry because she could do it so damned easily.

"That's right, you like that, don't you?" She asked and Nero growled in frustration. He didn't want this with a low-class demon like her, he wanted it with Dante. He wanted Dante to be the one to touch him like this, kiss him like this, set the fire under his skin and make him melt... "You want me right?" She asked and licked his neck. Nero's fingers twitched in rage at her as another memory of Dante's laughing face entered his fuzzy mind. He had done something completely idiotic and ended up flooding the kitchen when he added too much detergent to their laundry. And Dante had laughed... Focus on anything but pleasure. No pleasure like this. Not with her.

"No." He let out in a strangled voice mixed with pleasure and rage. "Get off." He demanded and let out another growl. Pleasure pulsed through him, causing his head to fling back as she nipped at his neck. "Damnit..!" He growled out and his hand twitched. 'This thing is going to take advantage of me. I can barely move and this bitch is going to seduce me to death. Heh, Dante said I couldn't take on this job.' He almost laughed at that but was distracted when her hand traveled down his shirt to his pants. He jerked violently when he felt her hand touch his straining erection. His groin was on fire, burning so hot that he was nearly delirious.

"What do we have down here?" She said and pets his painful member through his jeans which were painfully tightening from her touch; much to Nero's displeasure. "How might this feel... if we... tasted it...?" She whispered seductively as she slid away from his face and slithered down his body.

Nero groaned as he heard the zipper on his pants go down and the thought of Dante doing the same thing made his eyes snap open because, no matter how fucking amazing this felt, no matter how hot he got or how much he wanted it at that moment, it wasn't Dante, it was a rogue demon. Dante had been right. He couldn't handle this on his own. Lady had told him he couldn't do it and Dante agreed but gave him the choice. They had been right. Dante had been right but that didn't mean that he couldn't start listening now right? Because, hell. He couldn't leave Thera with the old man. He'd probably sell her for cash to buy pizza.

Pure fury washed over him, whiting out the pleasure and he snarled. "Stupid old man!" And with this break in the lusty haze, his hand flung up and pistol-whipped the mermaid to the ground and he pointed his Blue Rose at her shocked face. He panted heavily, the sudden heat dulling and making him almost whimper, but he didn't. "Go to hell where you belong." He said his voice stone cold and she smiled at him before he pulled the trigger.

Blood and brain matter went everywhere as the bullets hit her in between the eyes. Nero watched her body fall back into the water and float there for a minute. Her body turning the water a sickly red color and he watched it float to the bottom like a brick before turning away and leaving the room, banging the door shut with his foot before retreating to the bathroom where he went to clean himself up. Of course, he wasn't going to touch his biggest problem, not when he kept reminding himself of who gave it to him. He knew it wasn't going anywhere any time soon, but that didn't mean he was going to do something completely disgusting like getting off when a rogue demon had given him the boner in the first place. So, he zipped his pants back up, wiped off the blood spatter and shook out his hair before exiting the bathroom and the building.

He watched people look at him walking from the building and to Dante's bike. The site of a teen covered in blood splatter and miscellaneous other things was quite a sight to see coming out of a fitness center, even if they had just been asked to evacuate some time before. He forced himself to ignore their stares as he got on his bike and waved to them.

"Pool's safe. Send the money to my informant." Was all he said and revved his bike before taking off at a near-impossible speed. Little did he know that he had been in there longer than he'd originally thought. What seemed like minutes ended up being a good two hours. On the way home, it began to rain. Pouring... freezing... rain... on top of the snow that was being thrown in his face from other cars. His day was just not going as he expected. But when did they ever when he had jobs to do? "Great, just what I need. Freezing, tight, wet boner pants. Thanks, mother nature! Fucking love you too!" He yelled but it was lost behind him in the wind and the sound of the engine.

To make this night even better? The bike ran out of gas. It slowed, and he pulled off to the side before getting off and kicking it, causing it to fall over and skid a few feet. Now it needed a new paint job. Nero felt like crying, but he didn't. He just screamed a few curses for only god knows how long before punching a light post with his devil bringer and picking up the bike, leaving the dangerously bent light post behind. He walked home from there, the pouring rain soaking everything on his person to the bone. It was time for an hour walk back home. At least the pain from the light pole helped lessen his painful problem downstairs.

Dante stretched and got up from his chair, walking by the window to briefly glance outside before going into the kitchen to grab a tomato juice. Nero's job had taken longer than usual and even after putting together the shelves and setting them up-by himself- Nero had still not returned home. He was starting to get a little worried about his mate. Usually, even with his bike still, here, Nero only took a good four hours to finish up his job and be home. Now it was rounding five PM and he still wasn't home. It shouldn't have taken him two extra hours to finish his job. Not to mention it had started to rain as soon as they got home.

Dante sighed as he sat down at his desk again. He pushed Ebony and Ivory to the side with his foot before propping both of his feet onto the ebony desk. The office was silent other than the sound of Dante's occasional page flips and sips of his beer. He had sent Kyrie out nearly five minutes ago to pay the water bill seeing as she had to have something to do while she waited for Nero. Organizing the entire office, kitchen, and baby room had left her with little else to do. Dante, of course, had napped most of that time. So she took the umbrella and her car before heading off to his tenant and paying the bill. Dante really had to thank Nero for all the money he was raking in. At some point, all of his debts would be paid off. Maybe he would even stop having to mooch money off of the girls. He owed about three thousand to each of them. Although, they did have an interest in debts, which Dante was sure was close to a thousand more each. Plus the money they spent shooting him so many times… Wasted bullets.

'Damn I owe them a lot.' Dante thought to himself before he sighed and finished his beer before tossing the empty can onto his desk and standing up. 'If he doesn't get home soon, I'm gonna go out and find him.' He thought and just as he passed the pool table the doors swung open and in walked a completely drenched Nero. Dante blinked at him in surprise, not hearing the motorcycle engine before smirking at him. "Welcome back kid, how'd it go?" He asked and Nero glared at him before shutting the door and moving towards the stairs, stripping his trench and hooded vest as he went.

"Great, bitch is dead. I'm going to sleep." He snapped and Dante's smirk grew into a grin.

"It just isn't your day is it?" He said Nero stopped at the bottom to look at him, making the mistake of turning fully to him and showing his hard-on, weeping against his pants, at full attention. Dante whistled in appreciation. "Seems you had a little more trouble then I would've thought." He said and Nero growled at him before ripping his gaze away and begun to hasten his steps up the stairs.

"Shut up or die old man." Was his simple threat before he retreated to their room.

Dante simply sighed and gave him a concerned look before turning and picking up the giant mound of beer cans before throwing them away and going back into the office. He had only seen Nero that pissed when Dante himself was messing with him. Of course those were the days when Dante had nothing else to do and was bored out of his mind. Then he just got Nero a tad sexually frustrated before completely going "asshole" mode on him and watching Nero's reaction from afar. This however, was a new level of pissed mixed with sexual frustration and a bit of self-proclaimed shame. He knew Nero was probably sulking on the inside too. He looked outside and through the window was his bike, covered by the sheet and looked like one of the handles was bent oddly.

'He must have had a harder time then I thought. Maybe he wasn't ready for that mission. Thought it'd be fun as hell to see his reaction though...' Dante thought to himself before sighing and turning from the window. Even if his lover had managed just fine on his own, he certainly seemed a bit more embarrassed than usual. Perhaps he'd better go check on the younger demon and… help… with the youngers situation. A large grin broke out onto Dante's face slowly in realization. This was finally the time he'd been waiting for. He'd finally get to mark his mate again, make him his. Giddy or not, however, Dante was going to at least make sure the younger devil hunter was okay first.

He jotted down a quick note for Kyrie, setting it down on his desk, dead center so she would see before going upstairs and stopping in front of their room. His heart rate quickened in excitement that only two things could cause; killing demons, and getting to be intimate with his lover. The feeling was still somewhat foreign to him as he'd always had human relationships if any before he'd met Nero. Now though, a fluttering in his chest and the grin on his face made his sour mood from before melt away as he thought of being able to touch and feel his half-breed lover below him. In anticipation, he reached for the doorknob and before he could open the door a low moan sounded from the other side. Dante's smirk grew into a hungry grin. He knew the kid couldn't handle having a hard-on that bad. His devil inside gave a hungry growl and he closed his eyes to take in the air as the door swung open.

The musk of Nero's arousal flowed through his nose causing him to shudder. Arousal throbbed through the red-clad devil as his eyes slowly opened. The scene that graced him made his own member throb deliciously just as Nero let out a particularly loud younger devil's mouth was open to let out breathy whines, his eyes closed in unconditional surrender of the pleasure coursing through him. Dante's mouth watered at the sight of his lover bent over on his knees with his chest against the bed, hips in the air with the fingers of his human hand deep inside himself and his devil bringer wrapped around his erection, pumping heatedly. Nero's open mouth was letting out a thin line of saliva, dripping down his chin and onto the pillow his head was lying on. His eyes were open only a crack and hazed over as the pleasure enveloped him. His wet clothes were thrown on the floor in a line to the bed and Dante could see there was already one small pool of white in between Nero's open legs. The younger male could barely wait until he was home before he'd cum on their bed. The husky groan Dante let slip from his lips from where he was standing caused Nero's eyes to fly open and all his movements to freeze. Disappointment filled Dante at not being able to see his young lover please himself but quickly perked up at being able to finally touch the other.

Nero's mouth opened into an O shape before clamping shut and only opening to let out huffs of air he couldn't control through his nose. He only panted where he was, fingers still deep inside himself and his other hand gripping his still rock hard erection. Dante couldn't help the goofy smile that slapped itself onto his chiseled features.

"Keep going, I'll stand and watch." Was the elder's only reply. His own voice was deep, authoritative and made Nero's eyes slip closed. Nero's cheeks were nearly the color of Dante's jacket. The shivers running through his body as one of his fingers inside him twitch involuntarily make him let out a short breathy noise that wasn't quite a moan nor a whine. When Nero finally found his voice it was laced with lust and irritation.

"If you stand there and don't get over here in the next five seconds, I'm going to make you regret ever coming into this room." He ground out and Dante closed his eyes before a guanine smile made its way onto his face.

"As you wish, Nero. I'm walking." The younger man's name slid from Dante's lips as if it was caramel sliding from his tongue. As if to prove his point he took slow steps over to the bed, stripping as he went. First, his coat disappeared, then his black muscle shirt, then his pants. When he finally made it to the bed he was in all his naked glory. Nero withdrew his fingers from himself with a shuddering sigh before lying down on his back as Dante threw his leg over the younger devil hunter's waist, his lips locking with Nero's in a fiery kiss. When they let go Dante reached down and swatted Nero's hand away from his erection so he could replace it with his own. Nero's hard-on was so flushed and full, it was turning a deep cherry red at the tip. It jumped in his hand when he stroked it. "How did you get away with just this?" He asked and gave Nero a slow jerk from base to tip. Nero let out a breathy moan, unable to answer. "If you were this turned on, she must have been ready to finish the job. I wonder what she made you see when you felt the way you did." He whispered almost to himself before rubbing his thumb over the slit of Nero's erection. Nero's head flew back and he shouted in pleasure, his body shivering and hands fisting the bed. Dante let out a guttural growl as a bead of pre-cum welled up on the tip of Nero's cock. "If I'd known you were this hot and bothered I would have just taken you in the office." He said and Nero couldn't help but glare at him, although it looked too pleasure stricken to actually be close to what he was aiming for.

"Don't... tease me old man." He said and Dante chuckled before pressing his thumbnail into the slit of Nero's erection.

Nero's devil bringer tore the sheets as he let out a breathy "Oh Fuck…", bucking his hips into Dante's hand. Said devil hunter smirked and released Nero's erection with a small debate on what to do before he bent down and took Nero into his mouth. Nero, who had been ready to whine at him for the loss, was choked off on his first syllable when Dante's hot, wet, and incredibly tight mouth went down on him, deep throating him without a second thought.

His body tensed in surprise; toes curling, back-arching, thoughts blown away. Nero let out a long moan in pleasure as Dante skillfully sucked him off. "More..." He moaned in complete unadulterated bliss. With as many times as he and Dante had done this, he wasn't one to be embarrassed anymore. Dante groaned around him, sending little shocks of pleasure down Nero's toes and back up his spine. Nero's legs quivered on waves as Dante moved up and down his length.

Dante reached for his own length, listening to the sounds that were pouring from Nero's mouth. Dante was already panting and he hadn't even done more than kiss the boy and begin giving him head. Maybe it was from Nero's voice-who seemed to be more vocal than usual-that was turning him on this much. When he grasped his own weeping member, it jumped at the feeling of his warm hand causing him to shudder, letting go of Nero's cock with a swift lick around the head. Nero whimpered at the loss of heat.

"Getting tired old man…?" Nero teased between breaths and Dante smirked up at him before retreating to the side of the bed, where he dug through the drawer of his bedside table, pulling out a small pink bottle of lube. Nero recognized the bottle from the last time they had done this very same thing.

"Don't wanna be goin' in dry, you already scream enough." Dante teased and Nero glowered at him.

"Is this really the time to tease me?" He asked and, realizing what he had said, looked the other way with a blush. Dante's smirk grew into a goofy grin again, one of many new emotions Nero had seen from the older Devil hunter as they'd grown closer.

"Well, why not? It turns you on doesn't it?" Dante said and for emphasis he rubbed the tip of Nero's erection with his finger before pulling away, not giving Nero enough time to fully register the wonderful feeling. The erratic twitching of Nero's cock proved his point. Nero groaned trying to keep his hips still.

"Fuck you old man." He said as his eyes rolled back into his head. Dante moved back in between Nero's legs, pouring some of the strawberry-scented lube onto his fingers.

"I think I like it the other way around." Dante quipped, rubbing the ring of muscle around Nero's hole with his slick fingers. Nero let out a frustrated groan mixed with a whine.

"Shut up..." Was all Nero could manage as Dante slipped his fingers into him. His eyes widened and he looked down at Dante. "W...what are you doing old man? ...I'm already... Ready..." He panted and groaned when Dante forcefully thrust his fingers.

"Figured teasing you would be fun. Plus, preparin' yourself like that's not going to matter when I need to lube you up." He said and curled his finger and was rewarded with a choked cry.

Dante let out a groan as the young adults' walls closed on him and he had to hold the younger male's hips down, the grip on the boys' hips was punishing. It had been way too fucking long and his demon was purring contentedly at being able to dominate the other. Nero's demon was purring in return for being dominated by the older devil hunter. The time away from each other had been hell for the two, seeing as how their demons didn't like being apart from each other. Although Dante had it worse, seeing as how he had more demon blood running through him than Nero did. So the whole couple of weeks that Nero was out on a trail of jobs his demon had been whining and sulking like crazy, not to mention imagining all types of kinky things when it realized Nero was coming home. Too bad it wasn't expecting the baby that came home with him.

"You're so tight..." Dante ground out as he thrust his fingers into his mate repeatedly. Nero only let out a groan in reply before Dante thrust in another finger and curled his fingers a few times. Nero was writhing uncomfortably at the feeling of being filled by four of Dante's fingers. Then he froze his whole body stiffened and his eyes flew open. He let out a happy long moan as he melted into the pillow behind him.

"Dante... There, again...!" Nero slurred out, grinding down on Dante's fingers as his sweet spot was stroked. Dante's eyes were a dark stormy blue color now looking down at the mess of a man he'd created underneath himself. With a thick swallow, Dante merely continued thrusting his fingers, occasionally scissoring them, but making sure not to go near the kid's sweet spot. "Fucking tease..." Nero moaned out and Dante chuckled, some of the heat leaving his head.

"You know it." Dante huffed out and Nero flinched as Dante more cold lubricant, brushing over Nero's prostate again, causing the younger to arch and cry out.

"N-not fair..." Nero panted once Dante had left his prostate alone and continued to thrust and scissor his fingers.

"Kid, ts'not unfair. I could still be across the room watchin' you right now." He said and Nero groaned in sexual frustration but said nothing more.

Once Nero was weak with pleasure under him, Dante extracted his fingers and kissed the head of Nero's cock making him gasp, the taste of strawberry making Dante hum happily. Then Dante lubed himself up and lifted Nero's legs up so the other could wrap them around his waist then bent over the boy so Nero could wrap his arms around Dante.

"Ready?" Dante asked and Nero gave him a look that asked if he could possibly be serious. Dante chuckled. "Right, you've been ready." He conceded and on the last word he thrust himself deep into his mate. Nero opened his mouth in a silent scream, his devil arm digging into Dante's shoulder making Dante groan. He stopped when he was halfway into the younger, Nero's walls clamping rhythmically around him. "Damn kid, it's been way too long." He groaned and Nero nodded, panting and rasping into Dante's ear, making the older devil hunter crazy. His demon riled inside him, prickling at his skin, begging to come out. To dominate. To consume. Letting himself relax into the feel of his demon coming out, Dante plaid kisses along Nero's neck comforting him until he could get accustomed to Dante's size again after so long. Being half-demon, and Nero a bit less; they healed quickly, but even after a month or two of not doing anything, though this happened very rarely; Nero was at least a tad bit loose. But seeing as how Nero had been gone for a full five months with only the phone calls to keep him from going insane from his demon, Nero was as tight as a virgin. This was just pure bliss for Dante, and hell too in a way he guessed; considering he had to use everything he had to just stay still when he wanted to repeatedly pound into the tight heat surrounding him. His demon was driving him crazy inside telling him to just fucking do it and stop being so god damned gentle but Dante knew that Nero was more important than his demon's, and his own, sexual desires.

When Nero finally nodded into his neck Dante started to move, his hips moving slowly at first, wanting Nero to enjoy it without hurting the kid. Then Nero growled and told him to 'go faster unless you're afraid your old hips'll break', and well, Dante just had to show him how old he really was. Nero hadn't been expecting the sudden spine breaking thrust that Dante had given him and at the speed, he was going. Yeah, that was Dante's demonic speed and strength shining through, right onto Nero's prostate. Nero's mouth opened in an overwhelming sobbing cry as his head was thrown against the pillows while his legs brought Dante's hips closer. Finally, the older's devil was released and his eyes glowed red, but it was not enough to trigger. When he smiled, sharper than normal canines could be seen poking into his lower lip.

"Who's- old- now- Kid?" Dante growled in between thrusts as Nero finally found his voice and began to let out a string of moans and screams as his prostate was being brutally thrust against.

"Da...n...te...co-...Fuck! I'm cum-cumming!" Nero managed before he arched painfully into Dante and his seed burst in between the two lovers. His devil bringer dug farther into Dante's back, drawing blood and causing it to run down his shoulder blade and onto the bed. Dante in return threw his head back and shouted the clenching of Nero's muscles against him too much to deal with. He triggered with a shout.

"Nero!" He groaned out as he came into the younger man writhing on the bed under him.

His own semen filling the other to the fullest as he continued to thrust; his hips snapping sporadically. After his last spasm of relief washed over him, he let his trigger go, panting heavily, and completely spent before pulled out and he laid Nero's legs carefully on the bed. The spent former mercenary lay next to his lover with a content smile on his face. Nero was panting heavily as well from his position on the bed his eyes were closed and he had a pleased blush on his cheeks. His devil bringer was glowing in a gentle long rhythm, letting everyone know that it was happy, among other things. His demon was also sending warm thoughts through his head as Dante's demon comforted it, Dante doing the same thing to Nero as he pulled the young devil hunter toward him by the hips. Too long… It had been far too long since they had gotten to feel this sensation of completeness. Since they had been able to let go and really fuck without worrying about anything.

Nero snuggled closer to him, rubbing his head into the crook of Dante's neck and laying his hands against Dante's chest. Small kisses were placed wherever Nero's mouth could reach. Nero's body tingled pleasantly in the afterglow of what had just taken place, Dante's was similar but also very satisfied by all of the exertion. The younger devil hunter nipped Dante's neck, spending the time they had together with every breath. They usually weren't this affectionate in this sort of way. The kissing and gentle touching was something that happened very rarely, even after they had sex. The times they spent holding each other, kissing and caressing lovingly was of the times when they just had to lay there and take their lives in; thinking about everything they had gone through. It was during these times that they knew they loved each other even more then they had before. Of course, Dante wouldn't admit to loving someone out loud very often. But then, it was also during these moments that he would openly admit things he usually didn't. The feeling of being able to hold Nero again made Dante's heart fill with so much warmth that he found himself speaking.

"Love you, Nero," Dante said quietly against Nero's lips when the other had leaned up to kiss him. Nero blushed happily and hugged Dante a little closer.

"I love you too old man." He said before yawning. Dante kissed the top of Nero's head and fished the covers out from under them so he could cover their cooling bodies.

"Get some sleep. I left Thera with Kyrie for the night. Told her not to bother us." He said and Nero let out a small croon telling Dante that he wasn't listening that much anymore. "G'night Nero." He whispered and Nero's breathing slowed, telling him that he was asleep.

Dante closed his eyes, feeling his heavy body crying for sleep before his mind began to wander and was dragged into dreams that were more pleasant than he'd had in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrath: Ahh Finally some relief of the sexual tension. Please leave comments, recommendations. Anything you'd like to see added in the future. Anything is considered. This follows the plot exactly as the old story has. If you haven't read the old story, congratulations on joining this wild train ride!


	6. Symbol of Growth

Two months slowly passed from that night, Thera settled into Dante and Nero's abode bit by bit. They painted her room a nice dark cherry red with ivory lines vertically descending the wall. They bought more storage for toys they'd bought her, for tummy time and other essentials downstairs in the kitchen. Even Dante began to enjoy taking care of Thera as he realized he was a better father than he thought he'd originally been. Kyrie had also left after the first month as Nero and Dante had come up with a system on how to raise the child. She cried when she left, giving Nero a big hug and giving Thera a small kiss on the top of the head. The child's eyes were a stunning bright purple now and she was a happy giggling two months old. Kyrie offered Dante a short brotherly hug with a bit of embarrassment. It was an awkward hug, filled with uncertainty, but Dante humored her nonetheless. After Kyrie had left Dante was in a much better mood. He stopped gluing himself to Nero whenever he could, he took more jobs and he played with Thera. Smiled more often. Nero felt a surreal kind of happiness fill him every time he saw Dante's genuine smile. The moments they spent together with her reminded Dante of his time he spent with his mom and brother before they perished to the hands of demons. Happy, fleeting moments that made his head swim. Thera herself seemed happy that Kyrie was gone. Although there wasn't much of a change, she just seemed to cry a lot less, smile more and giggle more as well.

That fluke from two months ago with the teddy bear seemed a distant memory, Dante had nearly forgotten about it until Thera turned another of her toys into a disgusting color. Her white horse that Lady had given her when she came to visit was now papery and ashen color with the texture of an old sponge. She had thrown it from her playpen an hour after Trish had given it to her, the toy completely turned a different color. Nero had found the toy in front of the television and brought it over to Lady who looked from Thera to the ruined toy before turning to Dante.

"What the hell did you do to it?" She asked and Dante threw his hands up, signaling his exasperation, mouth open in aghast.

"She's been doing that with toys she doesn't like." He explained and everyone looked to Thera who was happily chewing on her pacifier. "I think she might be like Nero and me." The half-naked devil explained and Nero turned to look at him in skepticism. His brows were furrowed, but one was arched in inquisition.

"At this age though? Old man, she can't even walk. How the hell is she able to do things like that?" Nero questioned and Dante for lack of a better answer shrugged.

"I only know that this is now the second time I've seen her throw toys which she shouldn't have the muscle mass as a normal human being infant." He propped his feet up on his desk which he was sitting in front of. The calculating calm in Dante's eyes was something he didn't see a lot of either. Maybe a Dante of the past? "Just be glad she doesn't blow things up." He finished breaking the illusion he had over the younger devil. Nero rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but agree.

"If she did start blowing things up, we'd have a problem." He said and Lady nodded tossing the horse onto the couch before hopping up onto Dante's desk.

"Have you tried figuring out what type of demon she is?" Lady asked and Dante shook his head. "Why not?" She asked and faltering, Dante picked up a magazine. How to explain without seeming like a heartless bastard..?

"If we tried to do that now, then it'd probably hurt her. Figuring these things out isn't exactly painless you know. We wait and see what else she shows us and figure it out on our own." He spoke seriously again and began to read his magazine, signaling that he would like to end the conversation. Lady gave him a nonplussed look before reaching over and snatching the magazine from his hands. "Hey-!" Dante cut off sighing and looking at Lady with an irritated look. "Look I'll try and see what I can do without hurting her. I don't want you guys kickin' my ass for makin' an infant cry." He said and Nero rolled his eyes. Surely that was the least of their problems right now.

The office settled into a state of calm, Thera gurgling on her place underneath the playmat play area while Dante and Nero spent some time piled on the older demon's office chair. Old habits die hard after all. What need was there for a couch when there was a perfectly good lap to sit on? With careful deliberation, Nero hopped up from his chair and sent a side glance to Lady who sent him a small smirk. Dante, who had picked up his magazine once again and was no longer paying attention to the two, didn't see the mischievous look they shared. Replacing his ever-polished poker face Nero leaned down, taking Dante by the wrist and pulling him up from his chair. Dante almost fell over-still having his legs on the desk- but righted himself and stood up. Aside from the fact that he had almost fallen on his face, he was surprised by the other man's actions. "What?" Was all Dante could manage as he was being pulled towards the front door by an armor-clad grip. Nero looked behind him with a lopsided smile.

"It's your birthday idiot. What do you think?" He asked and Dante blinked before closing his eyes and sighing.

"Seriously? You know I don't like my birthday." He conceded. Yes, every year, Dante would hide in the office, reading his magazines and drinking a lot of beer. Sometimes gin and tonic just for shits and giggles. Dante had made a point to hide from the world on his birthday. What right did he have to celebrate his birthday when his birthday was the same day of his family's deaths? Nero stopped right outside the Devil May Cry building and turned to his counterpart with understanding eyes.

"Every year you spend alone is another year your mother would cry for you. There are people in your life who care about you, Dante. Let them be there for you once in a while." Nero assured the other man with slow words. Dante felt his normal mask of disinterest shatter like it always did when the younger half-devil was around. Dante's mind tortured him, constant memories of his family, new memories of Vergil. Abandonment, loneliness. However, before Dante could get too emotional overall this new information, Nero was dragging him to their car.

"Where are we going?" Dante inquired, concerned but also… strangely excited? Feelings he hadn't felt in many many years flowed up to the top. Dante had to fight to control them. New and foreign, his face remained calm.

"You and I are going somewhere you'll love," Nero explained and almost threw Dante into the passenger seat before sliding over the hood of the car and getting in the driver's seat and closing the door. He spoke again as he buckled his seatbelt. "And no asking questions. You'll know when we get there. You're lucky I didn't go with Ladies' blindfold fold suggestion." Dante chortled at the thought of Trish offering Dante one of her blindfold before studying Nero's boyish features as they began down the street.

Once Dante realized where they were headed Nero had a knowing smile on his face and Dante shook his head a small smile gracing his features. He watched silently as they turned into his favorite diner, pulling into the spot designated for them, seeing as it was the only space left.

"Why the hell are there so many cars here?" Dante asked and Nero just smirked before exiting the car and shutting the door behind him. Confused, Dante got out of the car, closing the door behind him before following the retreating Nero into the diner. All of his senses were put into overdrive when party poppers sounded and people jumped out from all over the place.

"Surprise!" Yelled all the people in the diner. Dante's eyes widened as he looked at all the people of his past. Nearly every single person that he had met during his jobs were there. His eyes scanned the group before a grin spread across his face. Happiness. Did he deserve this? As he looked around at all the people he had met throughout the years, the smile only stuck longer. Maybe...

"Well damn, at least you guys know how to throw one helluva party!" He said as everyone came up to him, throwing their arms around his shoulders, hugging him, or even punching him in the shoulder in greeting. Patty kissed his cheek happily after a huge hug.

Trish walked through the door as everyone was settling down around the diner, there own conversations starting as Dante sat down at the bar and struck up a conversation with Enzo, who he hadn't seen in many years since his trip to malet island. She smirked over at him before walking over and nodding to Nero who was sitting to the other side of Dante. He nodded back.

"How's it going, Trish?" He asked and she shrugged before nudging Dante in the side with her elbow. He turned to her, his wide smirk widening as he saw her.

"Well, well, decided to show up this time and not pester me about my debts?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Don't expect me to forget about them forever. I'm dropping by before I head out to another job. Wanted to drop this off." She explained and tossed a box with black wrapping paper and a red satin bow at him. He caught it and from across the room he heard someone yell, 'Present time!' and he couldn't help but think of how childish it sounded. Patty perhaps?

"So you gonna stay and watch as my face lights up like Christmas lights when I open it, right?" He said sarcastically Trish folded her arms before her whole demeanor showed the scorn she felt.

"If you're going to say it like that, then no." She said before turning and beginning to walk away.

"Hey come on Trish. Don't be bitchy. You know how I am." He said and she smirked before turning.

"Then get all of your debts in on time." She said and he gave her a defeated look.

"I'll put it on my agenda." He said before twirling the box on his finger. "Now let's see what jack is in this box." He said before unfastening the ribbon and tearing the wrapping paper open.

He popped the unlabeled box open and peeked inside the box before he broke out in laughter. The whole diner looked at him in wonder before he took out some black steel handcuffs with white fur.

"I'd say you know me so well Trish, but hell." He laughed some more before looking at her with an amused face. "What the hell?" He finally said and she simply shrugged with her hands up and turned from him.

"Don't tell me you won't use them." She said and Dante chuckled once more before dropping the cuffs into the box, shutting it and tossing it onto the bar. More was inside, but he wouldn't dare uncover the contents at a party like this. "Have fun." And he wasn't sure whether she meant the party or what he would later be doing with the... wonderful present she had just given him. He shook his head either way and watched her retreat through the exit of the diner.

"Woman's gotta think I'm insane enough to even think of using something so..." and then he caught himself before he finished his nearly embarrassing sentence in his head. 'flimsy... Nero would just break through the damn things... or the bed...' He thought before shrugging and watched as others walked up and handed him presents.

The first gift after Trishes was a new guitar. The guitar was a custom painted Minarik Tone Medusa with Dante's shop name painted in the neck of the guitar. He had nearly grinned his fool head off when he saw what it was. The guitar in his office currently only released a hell of bats when he shred out on it, so this was a nice addition.

The next thing was from the little blonde and blue eyes princess that he had posed as a bodyguard in the past for. He received a can of sword cleaner. The simple item bringing emotions and memories to the forefront of his mind. There had been many birthdays shared with Virgil. He had remembered every individual present that he'd ever gotten from his older brother. He smirked at her and ruffled her hair when she told him that she had worked to get the money. The little girl wasn't that young anymore, at the ripe age of seventeen. Still, though, she managed to be just as annoying as when she was twelve. Adolescence…

The next present was from Rose, the daughter of the pizza shop owner down the street from where Dante and Nero lived. She had bought him a pair of new boots. Black, steel-toed and heavy-duty for battle, but with flashy steel spurs. They reminded him of the boots he'd had when he'd stormed Fortuna. He got up and hugged her quickly before sitting back down and glancing over at Nero to see him pursing his lips and looking in the other direction, his chin in the palm of his hand which was leaning on the bar. Envious of course, but not one to act a fool. Dante smirked at him. Then Jerry walked up and gave him a thinly wrapped gift. Dante looked up at him before leaning back.

"What's it gonna be this year Jer?" He asked and Jerry sniffed before shrugging and waiting for Dante to open the gift. Dante opened it, looking at the card before he gave out a barking laugh. "Damn Jer, if I knew you cared that much I would have paid my tabs more often." He said as he waved a tune-up card for the nearest auto repair shop. Jerry just gave him a smug grin before punching him in the shoulder.

"Happy birthday kid." He said and Dante rolled his eyes at the 'kid' comment, knowing damn well he was older than the other man before setting down the card and taking the next gift that was given to him from Enzo, who was already starting to smell like alcohol. He unwrapped a bunch of dirty magazines and his smirk grew into a dark grin before he nudged his friend and waggled his eyebrows at him.

"How'd you manage to get these issues?" He asked. The info broker sighed and shook his head.

"Work, that's all I gotta say." He said and Dante placed the magazines on the bar, covering them with the other presents he could and took the last present that was handed to him. Looking at the individual that had handed him the gift, icy blue orbs met ocean blue. Nero's...

"Don't expect a ring or anything. Perverted old man." Nero said simply as Dante ripped the package open.

"Wouldn't with the size of the box. Though I would-" Dante was cut off as Nero elbowed him in the shoulder. "Yeah yeah, PG while there are kids around." He said and Patty frowned in the background. When the wrapping was finally off Dante popped the top off of the sealed box and his eyes scanned the contents. All the bullets from the night they had brought home Thera were laying gracefully inside their box. The image of the devil girl on top of his name small, but clean enough for Dante to see. Such a simple thought, something that wouldn't last forever, but the best present of them all. A calm smile spread over his face as everyone waited in anticipation, some confused by his reaction and others smiling wider. "Kid..." He said placing the box down before he got off of the stool and took Nero's hand, pulling him forward from his chair. Nero gasped before he found his head locked in Dante's arm and his head being ground into by Dante's knuckles. A noogie.

"What the- Old man- What the hell?! Let- go! That hurts!" He said before Dante let go and wrapped his arms around Nero, pulling him close into a hug. Nero's face filled with red as he blushed hard before he was pulled up and he squealed as his reflexes kicked in and he straddled Dante's waist. "Dante!" He hissed in a whisper before Dante grinned at him.

"Kid, you have no idea how happy your present makes me. I'll put my love into every bullet for you when I use them." He said before Nero pushed him away, the younger's eyes scanning the staring crowd as he jumped down off of Dante's waist.

"I-idiot..." He said before blushing and looking at the ground. "You're welcome..." He muttered before walking back to his chair. Then he went back to looking at the various brands of vodka and whiskey, the blush still evident on his face. Dante shook his head at the other before sitting down again and thumping his fist down onto the bar.

"Hey Jim, how 'bout we start a round of drinks?" The old Devil hunter bellowed merrily and all of the adults cheered. Patty just rolled her eyes and sipped her mountain dew. Music started in the diner's speakers and the evening began.

The party continued way into the night and by the time midnight came around half of the party-goers were already gone and many of the rest were departing for the night. The music beat steady rhythms from the speakers as the rest of the small group winded down. They sat in their respective places, some at the bar, some at tables playing poker or blackjack, others were at the so-called 'dance floor' which was only a cleared space with some strobe lights and lasers. That part was blocked off so the other party-goers could calmly mingle in the other three-fourths of the diner-turned-club. Dante and Nero, however, were huddled together in a booth a ways away from all the fun and commotion, talking and just enjoying each other's presence while Dante consumed massive amounts of Strawberry Sunday's. Over four hours, he'd eaten around nine but shared two more with Nero. Once nearly everyone had gone home it was around four in the morning. The two demons were still stuck in the same place, eating the final sundae of the night.

"You're gonna get fat old man," Nero commented with a Cheshire smirk. Dante stuffed another spoonful into his mouth, winking at the other.

"Hey, I have a high metabolism you know." Dante retorted once he had swallowed and Nero just shook his head before snatching a spoonful from Dante's Sunday and popping the spoon into his mouth before Dante could reach out to stop him.

"Hey!" Dante complained as Nero gave a victorious grin and licked his lips. Dante took Nero's wrist in his hand and pulled the half-devil forward into a hungry kiss. Nero's eyes widened as Dante's lips moved on his own, his body naturally moving along with the motion before his eyes dropped closed and he pushed back against Dante's lips. Their mouths opened, exploring each others' ice cream hadn't even left Nero's mouth yet, melting in between their mingling tongues. Nero made a pleasant sound when Dante finally won, exhausting the other man's tongue and started memorizing every crevice inside his mouth. When they finally pulled back Nero was breathing heavier, a pleased smile on his face while Dante was licking his lips. "There. I think I got most of it back." He said and Nero's eyes widened in realization, a light blush covering his cheeks. He reached up and scratched the side of his nose to hide it. His face still hot and bothered.

"Dante." The red demons name came from the younger male's mouth as an embarrassed growl. His eyes flashed blue for an instant as his demon wanted out to play. The instant seemed like an illusion to any other person before Nero simply turned his head away with a frustrated huff, having gained his composure. At that moment, they heard someone walking up behind them from down towards the rest of the party-goers.

"Hey, you two love birds!" A low voice called in a teasing tone. The embarrassment grew as Nero turned around to see Jerry walking up. Composure. Composure.

"Heading home?" Nero asked in an even tone. Jerry nodded as he stopped in front of them, Rose appearing behind his larger form.

"Rose's got Theo to take care of and I've gotta set up the shop for tomorrow." He explained and Nero rose from his chair followed by Dante. They all shook hands before Jerry and Rose left, already talking about how their night had gone. Nero shook his head at the two retreating figures and before he had the chance to sit back down Dante grabbed him by the waist and pulled him down to the dance floor.

"Dante, what are you doing?" Nero asked and Dante smirked before he began dancing. "You're serious?" Nero asked and Dante nodded before grabbing the other's hips and made him dance.

"We're the only ones here now. Might as well make the best of it." Dante simply said before Nero finally sighed and began to dance with him. Their hips swayed together and Dante ground them together lightly before Nero brought his eyes up to meet the others.

Their eyes met and gazed heatedly into the others. If it wasn't for the fact they were out and both of them were beginning to feel the effect of lack of sleep, they would have likely jumped each other. Nero put his hand around Dante's neck and promptly ground his hips into Dante's in a sweet swaying motion, making Dante's eyes roll back into his head and his hands on Nero's waist to tighten there hold. The music thumped around them, filling their bodies with the bass and rhythm. Nero slid his hands down from Dante's neck to his clothed chest, where he kept them, swaying his hips back and forth to the hypnotic beat, feeling the base reverberate with his own heart. He loved this feeling; the feeling of the both of them wrapped in the music where no one could get to them, how he could tease Dante back for all of the teasings he had given the younger in return, and the sad fact was; If he wasn't with Dante now, he sure as hell wouldn't have been dancing like this with anyone else. He was practically grinding on Dante hungrily, but at least he wasn't hanging on him. That would have been a sight, he was sure of it.

Nero rubbed his hand down Dante's chest and back up, repeating the motion in time with the music and his undulating hips. After a few minutes-which ended up being a full hour- of dancing, Dante grinned down at him before he took his hold on Nero's waist and pulled Nero up, making the other wrap his legs around his waist and loop his arms around Dante's neck.

"Are we still dancing or is this some type of new plan to seduce me?" Nero asked and Dante chuckled.

"Only if you want it to be, kid," Dante said and Nero let out a small laugh before bending his head down to kiss Dante on the lips. When they parted Dante tipped his head up and leaned it against Nero's. "Thanks for the present kid. I'll try not to use them all at once." He said winking at the now blushing young adult before him.

Dante let Nero down, taking his hand in his own before leading the still blushing half-demon across the dance floor and over to the bar. They both sat down, watching the bartender meander over with a small smile, looking a tad tired himself.

"Having a few more drinks before you head out?" The man asked and Dante nodded. "I'll make you two some special ones." He said before disappearing into the back. Dante looked at his retreating figure in wonder before turning to Nero, who was looking at the now space behind the bar.

"So I'm guessing you left Lady with Thera for the party?" He asked and Nero glanced over at the exit before looking back at him and nodding. "And she's not going to give me a present? The hell's with that woman?" He asked a little hurt even though his demeanor showed his indifference. Nero chuckled.

"She was going to subtract half of the money you owed her from your growing debt but since I already paid that off, she had to go buy you something. She has it back at the shop." He explained and Dante rolled his eyes but nodded.

The bartender came out of the back holding two drinks. One was a chilled blue color and the other was a bright cherry red. He set the red one in front of Dante and the blue in front of Nero before grinning at them.

"The last drink of the night. A Frappe Ramal 5 for the birthday boy and a Toxic Love for the other." He said and nodded to both of them before turning and walking to the kitchen door. "When you two are done just leave the glasses on the bar. I'll get them later." He finished before walking through the door. Dante smirked at the man's back before picking up his drink and turning to Nero.

"Well kid, to another year of being together?" He asked and Nero picked up his drink.

"Another year of hell with you?" He asked before chuckling. "Why not? It's better than the rest of this hell." He said before they tapped their glasses together and drank from them.

Dante closed the driver's side door to his car and stretched. After they had finished their drinks they had headed home, listening to the music and loving the silence they found in one another. Nero shut the door from the other side, walking alongside the taller demon hunter as they made their way inside the warm building that was their home.

When they entered Devil May Cry they saw Lady bummed out on the couch, her head hanging off the side along with one of her arms. Nero let out a short laugh at the way she was lying as he took off his coat to hang on the coat rack. Dante, on the other hand, walked right over to her and nudged her in the head with his foot.

"Lady, come on, up." He said in a loud voice and nudged her in the head again. She stirred, her eyes opening before she realized who was in front of her and sat up, swaying slightly as she did.

"Ugh, I feel like I slept upside down for hours." She said and the two men only glanced at each other before one smiled and the other smirked.

"Well, you at least got some sleep," Dante complained rubbing his shoulder with his hand. "The kid kept me up all night." He complained and Lady rolled her eyes before standing.

"Don't complain. It's not like you didn't enjoy it, judging from the cheesy grin on your face and the alcohol on your breath." She said almost in a scolding way. Dante threw himself into his chair and sighed.

"Come on Lady, Trish already yelled at me." He sounded like he was pleading but the other two in the room knew that he wasn't. Nero shook his head and turned to Lady.

"Do you want to give him his present before you head home?" He asked and Lady shrugged but walked over to his desk setting a cherry red wrapped box with a white bow wrapped around it on his desk.

"Have fun opening it. Don't come bitching to me if you don't like it." She said before turning and walking across the room to the coat rack where she grabbed her coat.

"Not staying before I open it?" Dante asked and Lady simply waved and exited the building, leaving the nearly silent room to the quiet ringing of her boots on the concrete. The door shut loudly, leaving a ringing in the silence. "Let's see just what she got me," Dante said picking up the gift, taking his time to lightly shake it, tapping it and even smelling it.

"If it explodes while you're opening it I'm gonna laugh," Nero said grinning down at him.

"If it explodes while I'm opening it then you're gonna be too busy being blown up to laugh," Dante said almost seriously but Nero could see the hint of a smirk there as Dante deemed the present safe to open and promptly began to rip the wrapping paper off, uncovering its contents.

The box underneath revealed the brand name LOVERS. At this a light blush scattered across Dante's face before he grinned and opened the box. Slowly he pulled out various toys some of them not even he had seen before. Nero was beyond words as he witnessed what could have only been the most hungry look in history pass over Dante's face when he glanced at the younger devil. His face was nearly tomato red-he was sure of this because he was nearly ready to pass out from the heat- at all the objects he had pulled out. He was going to have to beat the crap out of Lady later. He wasn't going to be able to sleep for the next few weeks.

"You're not using those," Nero said and Dante pouted at his voice.

"Just for-" Nero growled at him before he could finish. "Fine. Be that way. And I was going to let you top." He said and Nero blushed at the comment, his body reacting to the statement even though he didn't want it to.

"Lady was stupid for giving those to you," Nero grumbled before turning for the stairs. He grabbed the baby monitor on the desk before making his way toward the steps. "I'm going to check on Thera before going to bed. If you even think of touching me while I'm asleep, I'll make sure your arms are detached from your body so you won't be able to anymore." Nero said maybe a little bit too angrily before going upstairs. Parenthood made them both a bit cranky from time to time. Dante's broken fist and newly fixed tub could attest to that. Dante blinked at the retreating form before looking back at the box.

He should have felt a little guilty at finding all of Lady's presents amusing but he didn't. He had too much pride for that. He did though, have enough sense to feel guilty at making his lover angry. Even if he wasn't quite sure how he had managed to do it. So, he took all of the toys and shoved them into the box, opening the bottom drawer of his desk and dumping them in before shutting it again. Sighing, he stretched before making his way upstairs, walking down the nearly silent hallway, only the quiet rustling coming from Thera's room was the only indication that Nero hadn't gone to bed yet. He needed to apologies, the right way.

Just before Thera turned a full one-year-old she began walking. She had pulled herself up by the side of the couch and took her first full step without either of the parent's help. Dante had been sitting at his desk, taking apart ebony so he could clean her before he saw the toddler casually walking across the office. He had nearly fallen out of his chair and called for Nero who was in the kitchen at the time getting something to drink. Nero had run out of the kitchen so fast it startled Thera who had just managed to get to the middle of the room, making the poor child stumble back and fall to the ground.

"She was walking!?" Nero asked as he went to console the crying child. Dante nodded.

"Walking like she had been doing it for years." He said and Nero looked down at the eleven-month-old infant.

"Well her first birthday is in three days. It's no surprise she started walking now." He explained picking the whimpering child up.

Suddenly like a bolt of lightning had hit him; Nero jerked, nearly dropping Thera as he cried out and stumbled back. Dante shot up from his chair, thinking better of jumping over it and just walking around before making his way over to Nero. Nero carefully put Thera on the ground, setting her on her feet before clambering back and sitting on the floor. Dante knelt next to him, looking at him in concern.

"What's wrong?" Dante asked as Nero pulled down his shirt collar to reveal a small bite mark. "Thera did that?" He asked and Nero nodded.

"I think she might have been angry that I picked her up..." He said and rubbed the nearly bleeding bite mark. "Damn, for a small baby she sure has some sharp teeth," Nero muttered pulling his shirt back into place before he rubbed it again.

"Well, it's no wonder. She nearly has all of her teeth and she's not even one." Dante said clambering to his feet before looking at where Thera had managed to get to. She was now sitting in front of her blocks, playing with them and banging them together. He looked at Nero again who was getting to his feet.

"That surprised me. I wasn't expecting her to bite me." He said mostly to himself. "Dante, would you figure out what type of demon she is? We don't need to be sending her to preschool and have her biting people or making things turn odd colors. Maybe worse?" He said and turned to Dante. The one in question nodded, pecking Nero on the lips.

"Yeah, sure thing love." He said and Nero glared at him for the nickname. A blush settled on his face, but he leaned back in and kissed Dante back, the sound of baby giggles and blocks smashing together in the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrath: I added about a page of content, so it's longer than it was before. Mistakes were fixed, especially when I wrote this chapter at a time when spell check wasn't working on my computer. Anyways, I hope you guys have liked it so far. Please, please! Leave a comment even if it's just to let me know you enjoyed the chapter. I love hearing everyone's comments!


	7. Born to Death

Days passed by slowly. The time meandered by with each mission they accepted. Days grew into weeks, which grew to months, then years. New domestic tranquility grew between the trio of demons. As time passed, Dante learned how to cook. Both adults learned how to clean. After some time, things started to change around the office. What was once a dark, cold office was becoming a bright, warm and buzzing home. Occasionally Thera would have little toddler outbursts of defiance. Normally months before the age-appropriate habits were supposed to happen. By the time Thera had reached the age of four Dante and Nero were at wit's end. She started to talk in full sentences a year and a half ago and because of this, they wondered if she was going to be mentally ahead for the rest of her life. Dante remembered how he was with Virgil growing up. His brother always knew the answers to everything. Lady inquired that, because one of her parents was a demon, she was going to have a running start in more than one area of growth.

"And a lot of stupid," Nero added jokingly pointing a Cheshire grin at Dante. Dante merely whistled before going back to his magazine.

Around Thera's third birthday, Dante had managed to figure out what type of demon she was. Through many stressful tests that ended with nearly both the child and the parent in tears. Dante had gotten a bit so many times, it could make mincemeat out of a normal human. The results were perplexing, to say the least. After each bite, he would grow weaker. At first, it wasn't even enough for him to notice what with their daughter being only two and a half. It wasn't until Dante noticed a wrinkle that he hadn't before. A wrinkle, on his beautiful chiseled features and he'd had to trigger to make the wrinkle disappear because fuck if he was going to be seen walking around Capulet with anything on his face. That was all the information he needed before he knew what was going on. No rifling through books necessary. The news that he broke surprised the younger teen. Or rather, Nero was the one completely confused.

"I didn't think that he was a real thing," Nero confessed the older demon as the conversation and Dante shook his head.

"Technically Grim Reapers are a breed of demons that live by harvesting the souls of corrupt humans and then eating them. The top dog of the Grim Reapers is the one who decides who's the time it is to be harvested. They are as alive as any of the other demons we've ever dealt with in the past, the only difference is that these are top tier level demons, right below my father's level. They are a high functioning society in the fourth level of hell. They fought alongside Sparda during the rebellion against the demon king. They keep a sense of normalcy in the demon world. As much as it can be for there are no laws." Dante explained as Nero looked down at Thera-who had been a year and a half at the time they had figured this out- before turning back to Dante and sighing.

"It explains the color of her eyes." Nero speculated, looking at the now brighter orbs. Instead of the dark violet they had been at birth, they were now a stronger violet.

"The Grim Reaper has eyes like that. They'll get lighter with age. Depending on the strength of her demon blood, they'll turn white as his eyes have." Dante provided as Nero wiped some spit up off of her face. "He always said it was another reason he didn't want others to see his face. Reapers' eye color ranges from lineage." He popped the lid off a tomato juice and sat back in his office chair, putting one arm behind his head.

"So how do you know all of this?" Nero asked as he let Thera down to toddle away to play with the toys laying a little ways away. Her little feet made small smacking sounds on the wood flooring. She squealed as she picked up an elephant with teething rings for ears. The toy immediately went into her mouth as she plopped onto the floor, teetering back and almost falling over before she caught herself with a jerk forwards and raised both of her hands in victory while the elephant hung from her mouth. Both devil hunters smiled at the small child but were brought back to the conversation as Dante spoke on.

"They're the only demons that can come and go from the demon world without a portal." He started causing Nero's breath to catch. "When my brother and I were younger, when our parents were still alive, he used to come over and visit my father. They would sit for an hour and play chess. Virgil would always watch while I was spending time with mom. Then afterward he would help dad teach us sparring." The surreal look that overtook Dante's face sent a sting of pain through Nero's heart. Even now, so many years later, he remembered the fond memories of his family. "It's Ironic that I used to call him Uncle D and now I'm looking after the guys' daughter this many years later." The words left his mouth with a hollow sound, souring his mouth as a sad look adorned his icy blues.

"So he helped you with your sword skills?" The blue devil inquired. Dante nodded, taking the elephant that Thera had brought over to him. He made it hop half-heartedly across his desk for a moment in silence, looking at how Thera clapped her hands and squealed.

So now, they had to teach the girl how to not use her powers. In public. She could use them at home, as long as she didn't suck the life from her parents or visitors. She could drain the color from all of the stuffed animals she wanted if it didn't hurt any humans.

"So, I can't bite anyone?" Thera asked, her adorably feminine voice a little saddened.

Thera's hair had grown out and was not a wonderfully bleach- white color. The blonde had been drained from it and she now dawned a beautifully silver head of hair that reached her butt. She had it braided-courtesy of Trish- over her shoulder and had a pretty sky blue ribbon tied at the end. Her purple eyes hadn't changed a bit but her face had thinned out now that she had lost some of her baby fat. She had skyrocketed in height and was about a half an inch too tall to be a four year old. Dante and Nero had been worried about that but didn't show it, thinking that she might stop growing to prevent any odd glances.

Her wardrobe had been finished a while ago, now filled with jeans and lots of T-shirts. The occasional dress was thrown in but was usually a dark strawberry or burn orange color. The only pink clothing she owned was one tank top that was an electric pink color with black stripes. Her room had been repainted as well, now donning a deep blue like the night with small stars that glowed when shone in black light. Altogether, they had her completely knitted into their personal lives. They weren't unhappy about it either. Unless of course, it was about her biting people at the grocery store.

"No Thera, you can't bite people. We don't want you to hurt your friends or even people you don't like." Nero scolded and Thera looked down at the floor.

"But I can push them right?" She asked half-heartedly and Nero sighed. Dante let out an amused half chuckle.

"Face it, kid, she's just not ready for kindergarten yet," Dante concluded and Nero glanced at him before Thera growled and stomped her foot, ready to throw the third fit that day.

"I am too! I'm four years old! Daddy says that's old enough!" Thera shouted and Nero hushed her. "I wanna go to school..." Thera said as her eyes welled with tears. Nero shushed her and kneeled to stroke her back.

"If you keep better control over your powers and keep your hands to yourself then you can go outside," Nero stated and Thera sniffled.

"I- I know... but people are always mean to me. I'm scared... my hair and eyes..." She said and Nero put his hands on her shoulders before looking at her eyes.

"Your eyes and hair are beautiful. They're just not used to seeing them." Nero and Thera sniffled before nodding and wiping her eyes. She gave a curt nod before Nero hugged her again. "Now will you promise to behave yourself if I take you to school? No pushing, no mean words, no biting?" He asked and Thera nodded, though it looked like she was just saying it to say it and hadn't even been listening. Nero sighed, mentally tired of the sass that she had been giving them over the last week.

"I promise." She said in a quiet voice and Nero patted her head before letting go and standing up.

"Okay, go on and get your clothes on and we'll leave." He said and she nodded, her happy grin back on her small face.

As she scampered up the steps Nero walked over to Dante's desk and leaned down, resting his forearms against the dark ebony wood. He sighed, hanging his head limply before looking up at Dante and smiling. Dante was looking at him with an observant eye that Nero knew wouldn't be looking anywhere but at him for the next five minutes.

"Four years already and she's just now understanding that she can't purposefully kill people. Somehow I feel like that girl is more hard-headed than you." He stated with another sigh before sitting back against the couch. They'd had to rearrange to be able to keep an eye on their skittering half-demon yeeting machine. Dante crossed his arms over his chest from his place on his office chair with a smug look.

"That just means you have a PMSing version of me to deal with," Dante said slyly, smirking evilly at the way Nero's face went blank for a second before it turned into a defeated look.

"Dealing with the regular you isn't that hard. But she's going to be a handful." He said and stood up, running his hand through his hair before turning and heading to the kitchen. "I need food before we leave." He declared before entering the kitchen.

The kitchen had been updated, now donning new hardware and appliances. The doors on the cabinets had been switched out and the washer and dryer had been upgraded to something bigger. They now had a kitchen table that they made Thera sit every morning with them. It had felt odd when they had to start opening later because of it. The office hours had been hindered because of the new addition to their family.

Nero reached into the fridge, pulling out left-overs from the night before, before putting it on a plate and popping it in the microwave. They had eaten salmon the night before and Dante and Nero had worked together for their first real meal since Thera had turned four. They had only been eating pizza and instant food before. But since Thera was starting school they needed to send lunch with her. Why not start early and learn how to cook by making dinner? Of course, they had the help of the lovely Kyrie, who had taught them from the nitty-gritty. Or as most would say, how to not burn things when cooking them on an electric stove. It had taken them a good year to get things right and finally make a decent meal. Of course, they weren't chefs but it was edible and flavorful.

The Microwave dinged, telling Nero that the fish was done cooking before he popped the door open, extracted the food, and grabbed a fork from the drawer, heading out into the office again.

"Last night's dinner?" Dante asked as Nero entered the room. Nero nodded, eating a large piece of warm fish. Thera came running down the stairs as fast as her small legs would take her, dressed in a tan tank top and grey jeans with little white tennis shoes. She ran over to Dante holding up a brush causing Dante to look down from shining rebellion. "Want me to brush it?" He asked and she nodded, smiling broadly. "Okay, come here." He said setting down the cloth he was holding before picking Thera up and setting her on his lap. She giggled when she was picked up and squirms.

"That tickles papa." She said and Dante couldn't help but smile. The fact that she called Nero Daddy and himself papa was something that would surely confuse the girl when she got older or other people. He wasn't sure at the moment.

"Okay, let's take out the braid. I can't brush it when it's on one giant knot." He said fighting the urge to nonchalantly use swear words. He was trying to work against it since she had started to talk. She had run into the room one day asking what a whore was and well, they tried their best at trying to lower the cussing in the house. Things had certainly changed drastically from how Dante had been before he'd met either of the two half-demons. Dante took out the elastic band in her hair and shook out her hair with his hands, making the braid come loose and her hair fell onto Dante's lap. Dante whistled. "How about we get you a haircut sometime?" Dante asked and Thera looked back at him as he started to brush her hair.

"No! I love my hair." She said stubbornly and Dante looked over at Nero who was happily eating food on the couch and trying to ignore their conversation so he didn't get pulled into it. He knew Dante and the child needed time to themselves.

"Because your hair will get split ends and start standing on end." He said saying the same thing Lady had said to him while she was lecturing him about it one morning while she was brushing Thera's hair. "Plus it's harder to brush when it's this long." He said accidentally catching the brush on a knot. Thera, in turn, whimpered at the pain. "See? I told you." He said and she crossed her arms against the pain.

"I don't care, I like it this long." She said and Dante sighed.

"Fine then, we'll go get it trimmed," Dante said and Thera blinked at him in question. "Just cutting off all the dead ends." He explained and she nodded, not quite understanding. He put the brush down took the hair tie from her and put her hair in a ponytail high on her head before wrapping the excess hair around in a circle in her head. With the large bun on her head formed, he reached over with the other hand and opened the small drawer above his desk chair and grabbed some bobby pins he'd taken to stash around the house. The hair was, with many failed attempts, finally finished before Thera jumped down and started patting the bun on her head with a bright laugh. "They're all done." He said. Nero placed the dish on the table and got up.

"Well if you put that in the kitchen then I'll get going." He said and Dante nodded, going back to what he was doing.

"Have fun on your first day of school princess," Dante said as he stroked the cloth up rebellion's blade. Nero shook his head with a smile at the new nickname he had given Thera before walking over to the girl and taking her hand.

"Let's go," Nero said and Thera smiled so big it looked like it hurt while she began jumping up and down. Nero handed her a small backpack with a matching lunchbox and water bottle fastened to it for easy access.

"Yeah!" Thera exclaimed before they headed for the door.

Nero pulled up to the preschool. The small building had a large fenced in property with a brightly painted brick building centered behind a drop off circle. There was a small turn off right at the entrance for parking which Nero settled the old car into space. With an encouraging smile, Nero turned to Thera who looked a little nervous. He unbuckled his seat belt before getting out and walking over to the other side of the car and opening the door to the back seat, unbuckling Thera from her car-seat.

"Ready?" He said holding out his hand and Thera gave a small frown before looking at her father's eyes.

"What if they make fun of me?" She asked and Nero smiled sadly.

"Just remember that people will love you for who you are, not what you look like. Just be nice, even if they make fun of you. There's no need to stick up for yourself by yelling at them because that won't change who you are." Nero explained remembering how he was when he was young. Thera nodded, feeling a little better before taking Nero's hand and getting out of the car. "Now let's go make some friends." Nero encouraged and Thera gave a little whooping cry with a fist thrust into the air.

Nero shut the door before walking to the entrance of the preschool, watching all of the other kids walking through the doors, which had little suns painted around them, with their parents. Thera was skipping happily beside him and babbling nonsense to herself as they entered the preschool following the parents to the information desk. The line was a few people long, seeing as they got their early. Nero was right when he thought Thera was going to be tall for her age. She was a good inch taller than all of the other kids around her. As the line grew he knew she was going to be one of the tallest kids in her class. Hopefully, she wouldn't get bullied too bad. He knew she was strong but she was also a sheltered girl. She hadn't been out of the house since she was a one-year-old unless it was for just picking up a pizza or going grocery shopping. She wasn't allowed to go to the parks to play or be around other children until this year because of the fear that she might suck the life out of the children. Dante and Nero didn't feel like being sued. Especially when they could potentially have child services take away Thera.

So he hoped she had enough social skills not to be too timid around the other kids. Seeing Thera around the house demanding things of them like she was the queen made him think that she wouldn't be, but on the way to the school she had showed him a completely different side of herself. How could such a small girl be so self-conscious? He shrugged it off, stepping forward as the line proceeded to get shorter.

Thera turned around, glancing back at a parent and their child. Upon closer inspection, Thera saw that it was a small girl. The small girl was shorter than the average four-year-old, making her look years younger than Thera. Her head was donned with wavy jet black hair that just touched her shoulders and dusted thickly over her forehead. Thera stared at her beautiful jade green eyes, enraptured by the unique color. The young girl had dark olive-colored skin that glowed when she moved about with a shy look about her that made Thera want to reach out and hug her. Then the doubt set in again and the young half-demon quickly turned back around. What if the girl saw her eyes and didn't like them? What about her hair? What if she thought Thera was scary? Throughout the time she had spent outside she had observed everything with keen interest. And with that observation, she concluded that she and her two daddy's were the only ones that had white hair. But she was the only one in the whole world that had purple eyes. So it wouldn't be surprising if they thought she was weird.

Again she glanced back and saw the girl looking at her, surprised she jumped slightly and turned around again. This made the little girl behind her giggle and in return, she turned back around and saw the girl smiling at her. A blush filled Thera's face.

"Hi." The girl said quietly. Thera blinked in surprise and when Thera didn't answer the girl went on. "Your eyes are really pretty." She complimented and this caused the blush to darken over Thera's delicately pale skin. Thera smiled a little bit and nodded her head.

"Thank you. Your skin is really pretty." She said and downcast her eyes when she saw the girl giggle.

"Oh, thank you. No one says that but mommy and daddy." She said and Thera blinked in shock before she smiled, clearly having an instant attraction to the girl.

"My daddies say the same thing about my eyes." She said quietly and the girl looked at her in wonder.

"Daddies? You have more than one daddy?" She asked and Thera, thinking she had said something wrong, glanced up at her daddy who was smiling down at her nodding silently. Then she turned to the girl again and smiled big.

"Yeah." She said confidently. The girl smiled a little bigger.

"You don't have a mommy?" The little girl asked with wonder. Pausing, Thera looked down and shook her head.

"I did but papa said that momma went on a long trip and couldn't take me with her." She said and the girl nodded slightly confused.

"I'm sorry, I hope she comes back soon!" The little girl said smiling big and Thera nodded.

"Yeah!" She said and looked up at her daddy who had a blank expression on his face and looking at the back of the woman's head in front of him. She wondered if he was thinking hard again because he did that a lot when he was thinking hard. Then she turned back to the little girl. "So what are your mommy and daddy like?" Thera asked and the little girl grinned.

"Mommy is so funny and she always tries to make everything we do fun! She couldn't take me today because she had to work, but daddy brought me here!" She exclaimed looking up at her father who had similar features but somewhat tanner skin then the olive color of his daughter. "They both love me so much!" She said finally and Thera smiled too.

They took a step forward again and Thera and the little girl were dragged forward by their parents. Thera smiled at the little girl and messed with the end of her tank top.

"So um, what's your name?" Thera asked and the girl giggled.

"My name's Eleni. What's yours?" She asked and Thera paused before smiling to herself and looking at her new friend in the eyes.

"My names Thera." She said and Eleni let go of her father's hand so she could hug Thera. The poor silver-haired child was so shocked she didn't move. Until her father nudged her side that is. Then she smiled so big she felt the whole room light up. She had found her first friend. "Can we be friends?" She asked brightly and the little girl chuckled nodding into Thera's shoulder.

"Yeah, we can be friends," Eleni said and Thera finally hugged back. Nero looked at the two before looking at Eleni's father who was looking at him.

"My daughter doesn't get outside much because she used to be sick when she was younger. I'm glad she's getting along with someone her age so well." Nero explained to him and the older man nodded.

"My daughter has always been too shy to make very many friends. So this is one of her first friends as well." He explained and Nero knew that Eleni was going to be good for Thera.

Once Nero had gotten the small map for the building he turned to bring her to her classroom. There were three main rooms and a few separate classrooms for arts and crafts and then the playground for recess. Thera demanded that they wait for Eleni to get her teachers' name before they go anywhere so they could compare and Nero laughed before standing off to the side to wait for the two others.

"Miss Eleni Anthes, your teacher is going to be Misses Hopper." The lady at the desk said brightly smiling over at Thera as well. Thera's eyes brightened at the name of her teacher and she jumped up and down.

"Eleni we're in the same class!" She exclaimed excitedly and Eleni came over and jumped up and down with her.

Nero walked Thera over to her classroom where the two girls immediately ran in together, Thera's bun bouncing on her head. They met their new teacher who was a young woman about Nero's age and had a sweet baby face and curly brown hair. Her eyes were a bright shade of aqua and she wore a knee-length floral skirt with a V-neck grey shirt. The complete young hotness didn't even register to Nero's devil driven mind. It was only focused on one thing. 'Get back to your lover.' That's about all he felt while Nero was taking his daughter to school. Sometimes he'd even call his devil side a 'sex-driven monster' because he and Dante could go all night and his devil would still want more in the morning. With this new child, demonic habits had become a bit annoying.

Shaking his thoughts from his head he headed inside to meet the teacher. Once she had sent the kids on their way to go visit with the other children she turned to Nero with a smile.

"Hello, I'm Misses Hopper." She said holding out her hand. "It's nice to meet you." She greeted with a smile. Nero took her hand with his human hand-the other being covered by his coat and glove- and shook lightly.

"Same to you. My name is Nero." He greeted and She tipped her head to the side.

"Nero...?" She seemed to be looking for a last name and he shook his head before putting his hand in his pocket.

"Just Nero." He said and she nodded, dropping her hand and keeping the bright smile in place on her face.

"Okay, well Nero. I'm sure Thera will have a wonderful time here. She seems like a wonderful girl." She said and Nero nodded.

"She has a good heart but she can be a bit bossy sometimes. We usually just laugh it off and tell her no to whatever she can't have. She understands pretty well." Nero explained and Misses Hopper nodded knowingly.

"Okay, well I'll lookout for it. There are other parents to talk to before the day starts, so I better be going." She explained and went to talk to the other parents. Nero sighed and walked over to Thera who was playing with Eleni and a young boy who had blonde hair and blue eyes. Thera turned when she saw her father and ran up to him.

"Hey daddy, this is Jimmy, he's gonna play with us too!" She said happily and Nero nodded kneeling.

"That's great honey. I have to go now, but Eleni will keep you company. I'll be back to pick you up okay?" He asked and she nodded, a bit sad but understanding. "And I don't want to get a phone call saying you bit someone okay?" He whispered and she nodded more confident.

"I promise I won't!" She said and he smiled hugging her. She wrapped her tiny arms around his big frame to hug him.

"Good." He said pulling back and pushing back her bangs before gently kissing her on the forehead. "I'll be back." He said gently and she nodded happily before skipping back to her friends. Nero stood up, turning around and catching the heartfelt looks from the parents before casting his eyes to the side with a light blush. He reached up to scratch the side of his nose to hide it before making his way to the door and beginning his trip home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrath: Good day everyone~! I've been steadily looking through these chapters. Part of me wants to keep this chapter as it is, part of me wants to throw the entire story out and throw a fit. Such is the life of a writer. Part of some personal therapy is going through old work and finding ways of making it better. All comments and feedback are appreciated!


	8. The Road to Damascus

For all her parents' worries, Thera was settling into the class like any other child. Throughout the day they learned a series of things at eight different places. One was storytime; where they learned how to communicate with others through the eye of fictional characters. Next was the puzzle table, where children played with Lego blocks, and marbles to practice their fine motor skills, concentration, and hand-eye coordination. After that is the sand and water table, where they play and practice science concepts like cause and effect. Then they did a science project, which they more or less have a class pet and observer the habits of living things. The class pet they had was one that the teacher had brought from home. It was a small hamster, inside a wire and metal cage with tubes leading to a little compartment with a wheel. Most of the kids were enthralled by it. Then circle time which teaches the child to sit patiently, saying good morning, and talking about the day’s events. Then the art area; which they used crayons and colored a picture for their parents. Thera scribbled enthusiastically on the page while other kids were frustrated at not being able to color in the lines, something Thera had no interest in as she simply colored the whole page a menagerie of colors. Then the block area where they build things and practice their comprehension, distinguishing, and mathematical skills. Last was recess, where all the activity helps kids learn what their bodies can do. Children need to move and experiment to master balance, improve coordination, and develop their muscles. Group activities on the playground also teach kids cooperation. With the day almost over for the four-year-old, Thera was currently playing by the swings, pushing Eleni on one of the swings and watching her soar through the air.

  
Recess had started a while ago and when they had gotten bored of hopscotch and foursquare they had run over to the swings. Luckily one of them had been open, seeing as there were only three swings and two of them were taken, Thera had been nice enough to offer the swing to Eleni. Thera giggled as Eleni came back at her and she gave a shove, accidentally pushing a little too hard. Eleni's hands slipped loose from the chains of the swing and went flying from the seat. Shocked faces could be seen as Eleni quite literally flew from the swing and further than the rubber playground turf. She went tumbling to the ground, her hair flying around her as one of the braids holding her longer bangs together came loose. Thera watched it all happen in slow motion, her mind went blank before Eleni stopped in a heap on the blacktop in front of the swings. Thera's eyes began to tear up and she ran over to her friend, dropping to her knees and hesitantly reaching down to the injured girl.

  
"Eleni!" She yelled, placing her hands gently on her new friend. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She said as her friend sat up, Eleni's eyes filled with tears. "Are you okay?!" She said and Eleni started to cry with her. Slowly, tears started to pool over her lashes and fall her olive-colored skin. As if lagging behind her tears, her voice started to quiver before she began crying. Her eyes clenched shut while tears still managed to escape. 

  
"Y-you hurt me!" Eleni sobbed as Mrs. Hopper came over and knelt next to the two before other kids came over to watch. Thera's heart throbbed in her chest, an unfamiliar feeling in her heart as she felt tears running down her cheeks. Her silver hair created a halo around her as she put her head down, the teacher looked to and from both crying children before opening her mouth.

  
"What happened here?" The teacher asked looking at Eleni, her body perfectly fine with no scratch marks or anything. The pre-schooler had some woodchips in her hair and upon further inspection, the beginnings of a fat lip. The raven-haired girl covered her mouth, feeling the pain there and the words flew from her mouth in a flourish of noises. The teacher had to listen closely to understand the child's' words. 

  
"Thera pushed me off the swing!" Eleni wailed and scrubbed the tears from her eyes. The teacher looked at Thera surprised. The young girl was still looking at the teacher with scared eyes, clearly fearful of what would happen now that she'd hurt on of the people she was supposed to be protecting.

  
"Is that true Thera?" She asked and Thera looked down, pressing her lips together and the teacher had to prompt her again so that she would finally answer. Her voice was weak and scared when she answered.

  
"Yes... I didn't mean to..." She muttered, her face turned to the ground. One of the kids behind her scoffed and she turned around, startled but the kids just looked at her with scared faces. Her eyes filled with unshed tears, looking back at the teacher so she didn't break down from all of the stares. "I didn’t mean to push hard teacher! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..." She said as her tears fell down her pale cheeks. Eleni's sobs had quieted down to whimpers but she was still crying. Mrs. Hopper frowned, not sure who she should comfort. They both were pretty banged up about it. The adult put her hands on both children’s heads and gave them a comforting smile when they both looked up at her.

  
"Even if it was an accident Thera you still hurt her. You need to say sorry." She stated and Thera looked her teacher in the eyes. Ambivalence grew inside her as she remembered saying sorry already but knew that she needed to follow directions. 

  
"But I said sorry as soon as she fell." She looked at her friend again for a moment before she started to cry more. What was this feeling in her heart? A heavy feeling. It caused her to not want to do anything anymore. The feeling made her tears come out faster. "I'm sorry Eleni, I'm sorry. I promise I won't push you on the swings anymore." Thera choked out and Mrs. Hopper rubbed her back in a comforting way. The warmth of her hand slowed Thera's tears but the child still cried.

  
"You can still push her if she wants to be pushed on the swing but be careful. You don't want to hurt anyone." She said and Thera nodded but kept crying. She felt like she had done the worst thing possible.

She had hurt one of her friends when her daddies told her not to. Many trips to the corner had shown her that she was not supposed to hurt people even if she was angry. They told her not to hurt anyone even if she disliked them and she had anyway. It had even been a friend. Now her daddies would be mad at her. They would punish her. She was sad for not following the rules and even sadder that she had hurt one of her first friends. How could she have made such a mistake on her first day at school? She wouldn't be able to continue going now.

  
"Papa's going to be mad..." She whimpered and Mrs. Hopper smiled and hugged the child. For such a young thing, Thera was truely horrified over what had simply been an accident. A child so haunted at the thought of causing other people pain at such a young age. So pure...

  
"I'll explain everything to papa so he won't be mad." The teacher offered in a soothing voice. Hearing those words Thera sniffled, her crying slowing into hiccups. Could this person help her daddy and papa to understand that she didn't mean it? That it was a mistake?

  
"Really?" She asked and Mrs. Hopper smiled before nodding. The teacher helped both of her students up before she began dusting them off. While she was doing this the other kids went back to playing. When everyone was settled, Eleni and Thera shared a hug. The teacher made her leave towards the other side of the play yard and Eleni shared an Eskimo kiss with the white-haired pre-schooler. The motion surprised Thera to no end. No one had ever brushed their nose against her own before.

  
"I'm okay," Eleni said smiling broadly to her friend as she pulled away. "Do you want to swing?" She asked and Thera's eyes sparkled before she nodded.

  
"Mhm!" She exclaimed and they turned to the swings. When they turned one of the other children had taken it. He was swinging happily on it and humming to himself, his eyes closed so he couldn't see the two girls in front of him. A broad smile spread across his face, not a care in the world. Eleni stomped her foot at the boy.

  
"Hey! We were using that!" Eleni exclaimed angrily, completely forgetting that she had just been crying.

  
The boy heard Eleni in all of her raging glory he opened his eyes, looking at her blankly. The smile fell from his face suddenly. His eyes were light gold. They seemed to glow but were almost emotionless as they stared at her from under his hair. When Thera had seen this boy inside the classroom his hair was nearly black, but as Thera stared at the boy in the sun now, she saw red shimmer under its powerful rays. She didn’t know why. She didn’t understand this sudden feeling of dread inside her, Thera was afraid of this boy. She knew she was a demon and could defend herself, but the longer she stared him in the eye, the more she found that she couldn’t look away. It was like his eyes were pulling her in as if she’d wanted to take a step forward, but the emptiness of his look caused her body to stay frozen in place. The boys’ eyes narrowed and she felt her world shift, the sudden urge to go to the bathroom too much as she relieved herself all over herself. Then as sudden as her gaze had been captured, he looked away. She could feel her surroundings again like a gust of wind had passed by and she shivered, swallowing the cold saliva in her mouth as her eyes teared up. She didn’t like crying. She was more mature than all the other children here. Older mentally because of her demon blood. She shouldn’t be brought down to this level of crying. But she was still a small girl and though she was stuck in her ways, she still had a long way to go before she was mature enough to deal with the mind games that had just gone on. The boys gaze settled on Eleni and the same feeling that overtook Thera, glazed over Eleni’s eyes as well before the little boy spoke.

  
"You got off. It's not my fault your friend rudely pushed you off of the swing." He said in a more-or-less grown-up tone. Eleni's face grew red with anger as she tried to fight the weird control this boy had over her. Thera was shaking, disbelieving of what was happening.

  
"That's not fair, it was an accident!" Eleni fought with him as Thera stood to the side watching in utter horror. The boy cast his eyes on her again and Thera forgot how to breathe. The longer she stared at him, his eyes continued to pull her in, hypnotizing her. The gold seeming to pool into the center blacks of his eyes. His eyes changed to cold disdain, piercing through the four-year-old and making the small girl whimper, her body shaking, confused.

  
"Well haven't you seen her,” He began in a snarky voice His eyes catching Eleni’s again, and all the poor girl could do was stand there. “She's not a person. I mean, what type of person looks like that? Purple eyes? White hair? What a monster. Obviously a demon." He said bluntly as he kept swinging. Thera's heart fell into her stomach; she knew it was going to be like this. She had been waiting for it because no matter how nice she was, she was too different to be anything but weird. "Even if she dyed her hair and put in contacts, she still wouldn't be able to hide the fact that she's taller than all of us." He said rudely and at this point, Thera was crying again. Big, gushing tears with the wailing to boot.

  
She began to back away and the whole playground went silent. She finally found the strength to pull her eyes away and cover her face with her hands as she ran away from the swings sobbing uncontrollably. She heard Eleni crying out for her but she ignored her. She didn't want Eleni to catch her weird looks and grow a horn or something. It was at that moment that the boy on the swing slowly let a wicked smile cover his face and let out a chuckle before looking over at the other kids in the playground that had caught his eye.

Back at the Devil May Cry office, there were screams of pleasure. The screaming could be heard from blocks away. Crashing could be heard from even farther. Loads of growling. Along with the wet sound of skin on skin and maybe a few lamps falling off of nightstands. The two devil hunters had been holding back their demon sides for four solid years. Dante hadn’t been allowed to free his demon for some good fucking in so long he felt like he’d gone delirious the first time around that he actually did let it loose. Nero had started screaming at that point, having claws digging into his hips and a thick cock pistoning inside him at inhuman speeds. The bed had been broken after round one had finished. Then round two began before either of them let their triggers go. Both had wanted to get a little wild and play, the devils inside them purring and cutting into the skin with claws. A few times both devils became riled up and threw the other into different things in their room or throwing the objects themselves. If one looked around they’d see an unimaginable amount of blood covering their bedroom from ceiling to floor. It would have likely been a crime scene if it hadn’t been for the two demons finishing their lovemaking session in the center of the rubble. They both orgasmed with several bursts of energy one final time, the office shuddered and fell silent except for their breathing.  
No longer able to lean on exhausted arms, Nero fell limply onto Dante's naked chest, panting heavily. His chest burned, trying to get air into his lungs. His body buzzed numbly after having fucked for many hours at a punishing pace. Sweat and blood slid their two bodies together. Both half-demons let go of their respective triggers and tried to catch their breath. The blue half-demon’s hands slowly came out from under him, his body heavier than it had ever been after a session before, so he could run his hands through his companions’ hair, looking up into sparkling blue eyes. He grinned then, lifting his head to give Dante a sweet chaste kiss before lifting himself up off of his lover with shaking arms. Hanging his head limply and with little energy, he slid himself off of Dante. A blush darkened his cheeks at the slick feeling as he did so before flopping down next to his lover, heaving a satisfied sigh.

  
"What,” Dante began with a pause. “No round four?" Dante asked though the older man was out of breath himself, having done just as much work. Noticing how utterly exhausted the blue devil was, did nothing to sway his offer. Nero laid his head back and put his arm over his head in defeat.

  
"No Dante. I'm tired." Nero barely finished with a yawn and Dante chuckled as he pulled his lover close to him. One arm supported Nero’s head while the other looped around his waist with his hand gently resting on Nero’s plump ass cheek. He couldn’t help but give it a squeeze. Nero gave a tired moan. His hand almost got swatted away until he began rubbing Nero’s loose hole with a cum slicked finger. Nero in turn, let out a relaxed sound that wasn’t quite a moan and snuggled closer to the devil hunter. They stayed like that for a while before Nero finally spoke up. “Mm, though that’s really nice Dante, I still want to take a nap.” Nero drawled out and though Dante didn’t stop his ministrations, he gave Nero a gentle smile.

  
"Yeah, yeah. You have to pick Thera up in soon anyway." Dante mentioned and Nero nodded into his chest.

  
"Lemme sleep." Nero slurred as he snuggled closer into Dante's chest. Finally stopping and sitting his hand on Nero’s bare cheek, Dante just huffed half of a laugh and bent down to sniff Nero's hair, damp with sweat, blood and the smell of sex. He may have gone a bit too far, covering his lover with bites, but at the time the blue devil hadn’t minded. On the contrary, Nero had actually cum twice just from those alone. The amount of blood that they had shared had certainly not been as much as was wasted on their surroundings. Between claws, fangs, and throwing each other into things, Dante could feel the fatigue of a good fuck humming under his skin. It made his eyes heavy leaving him to bask in the afterglow. Though there was much blood surrounding them, both of their injuries had fully healed shortly after they had both climaxed. Sexual injuries didn’t last long, after all, they had been drinking in each other's blood and with it, demonic energy. If anything, their scent would be in this room until the day it was demolished. Just as it had been in his parents' room as a child. The twins were never allowed in their parents’ room, but when he managed to sneak in, there was an overwhelming smell that he hadn’t been able to put his finger on at the time. It was comforting, soothing even. It made his mind wander, drift like the clouds reflected in the sea below.

  
Just as they were about to drift off the phone rang. The ugly noise made them both flinch and groan in dismay. Dante cursed. Neither of them wanted to get out of bed but they knew with the lack of jobs that they had been getting, they needed the money for Thera to eat.

  
"Go get it, kid..." Dante mumbled and Nero muttered curses still tired from riding the older half-demon. Nero let out a small sigh before sitting up and sliding off of the bed. He phased down the hall and took the steps two at a time to pick up the phone before it hung up.

  
"Devil May Cry." He said rubbing his gradually throbbing hip. A woman's voice came from the other end.

  
"Is this Nero Angelo?" The Woman asked and Nero blinked at the full use of his name.

  
"Yeah." He said tiredly and the woman let out a sigh of relief before clearing her throat.

  
"This is the principle of Thera's preschool. Would you be able to come to get Thera a tad earlier? We need to talk about a few things." She said and Nero felt a spike of panic ran through his system.

  
"Did she do something to another child?" Nero asked his voice a little worried but he tried to keep himself calm. The woman on the other side of the phone sighed.

  
"Well no. You see she won't tell us. If you could just come up to the school then we could talk privately..." She explained and Nero felt himself un-tense a little, but then grew even more worried. The two devil hunters had never seen a moment where their child wasn’t babbling her fool head off, especially to tattle on another child for doing bad.

  
"Alright, we'll be there in a few minutes," Nero explained and hung up the phone before the woman could answer.

  
He turned from Dante's desk, running his hand through his bloodied hair and sighed in irritation and discomfort as it dried and caked together. Maybe Dante had been right. Maybe he should have waited another year before letting her go to school. But Thera was already a year behind in age and a year ahead in knowledge. If she were to be held back another year then she won't be able to graduate with her age group. Nero made his way up the stairs and to his room. Once he had entered the room he glanced over at Dante before walking over to his dresser.

  
"Get up old man. We're going to Thera’s preschool." He said and Dante shifted on the bed. Shock filled his face along with dread.

  
"Why, did Thera kill someone?" He questioned half-jokingly and Nero threw a boot at him which he dodged, rubbing his head.

  
"The principal doesn't know because Thera won't tell her,” More concern grew on Dante’s face. “That's why she's calling us in," Nero explained and Dante threw the covers off of himself.

  
"Let’s get this show on the road," Dante muttered getting up from the bed and walking out their door to the bathroom.

  
"I'm getting a shower old man! Don't use all the hot water!" He called, hearing Dante chuckle.

  
"Take one with me and we won't waste the water." He retorted and Nero rolled his eyes.

  
"No way in hell." He said flatly and threw his clothes on the bed. He walked over to his old clothes that had been discarded onto the floor a while ago and picked up his boxers.

"Hope we don't get into legal problems," Nero muttered to himself as he slipped them on, picking up his other clothes to discard them into the laundry basket.

  
He himself didn't mind if he got into trouble with the law. He protected the law and the rest of the population on a daily basis. The problem was doing that with a four-year-old daughter "on his hip" so to speak. If they got into trouble with the law then Thera would be taken away and they would do one of two things; put her in an adoption center, or if they found out she was a demon as well, would hire mercenaries to take care of her. Both weren't anything good for Thera. She was raised so far not to use her powers on any living thing. So if she had hurt someone, or killed them, then Nero would have no other choice but to give her up to the law if they intervened.

  
His chest grew tight at that thought. He would do anything but give Thera away. Four years with such a small being had made him-and Dante, even though the old man wouldn't admit it-softer in some ways. Dante himself had stopped making perverse and lewd comments as often. Notice, as often. The old man still did it, no matter how many times Nero would smack him in the arm for it. At one point he had said something so dirty that Nero had shot him in the foot for it later when Thera had gone out with Lady. Dante hadn't gotten any makeup sex for that one either. But at least Thera knew what the word anal meant and not to use it.

  
Nero removed himself from his thoughts at that comment, he moved down the hallway so he could enter the bathroom. The soft scent of strawberries entered his nose and he chuckled to himself. How could a man that killed demons and was continuously covered in blood splatter nearly every day want to smell like strawberries? Well, not even he knew the answer. Dante himself said that Patty had switched his shampoo one day without telling him and he just found the smell even more likable. Nero couldn't wrap his head around that explanation but shrugged it off in the end. He didn't want to worry about it, not when Dante just kept buying new bottles when he ran out. He relieved himself, hearing the water shut off at the same time he flushed before the door to the shower curtain was shoved aside and Dante came striding out, naked, wet, and steaming as if he had just come out of the oven. Yes, Nero wanted to run his tongue all over that skin. No, he wasn't going to. Not because he couldn't, but because he had to pick up Thera as soon as possible. So instead he turned his head away and went to the sink to brush his teeth.

  
"What, am I not hot enough to stare at?" Nero heard Dante's taunting voice come from behind him. Nero scoffed running the water over his toothbrush before squirting a decent amount of toothpaste onto it. The toothpaste mixed with the metallic taste of blood in his mouth, turning the normally white toothpaste into a bright shade of pink.

  
"That's not why I'm not looking old man," Nero said shortly before he stuck the brush in his mouth and started to vigorously brush his teeth. At this point Dante gave a hard slap to the youngers' butt, causing Nero to jump; quite literally, in fact, into the air and suck in a breath. Toothpaste went down his windpipe and he coughed heavily trying to get it back up. "D-damn it-" He coughed some more. "Dante-!" When he finally caught his breath Dante was nowhere to be seen and the ghost of the others chuckle rang in his ears. He growled but ignored the other so he could finish brushing his teeth and hop into the shower.

  
If Dante had strawberry scented shampoo surely Nero would have something more manly to balance it out, right? Well no, of course not. He had cinnamon-scented shampoo. Dante had been surprised about it as well; not completely believing him until he saw the bottle in the shower when Nero had fully moved in. Now it was like second nature; when one of them went out shopping they picked up the other's necessities. When Nero stepped out of the shower Dante was in the bathroom again, fully dressed towel drying his mop of silver hair and brushing his teeth.

  
"So you can multi-task," Nero commented walking past his and kicking the back of his knee caps so the other's knees buckled and fell from under him. Dante’s forehead hit the edge of the sink, sending his head back and sprawling him on the floor with a groan. "That's for earlier." He said calmly as Dante muttered curses before getting up and watching as the younger devil hunter grabbed a towel from off of the door and made his way to their room. Though his head now hurt, Dante couldn’t help but feel a bubble of laughter make its way up to his throat and out his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick updates are going to slow down now as I need to edit more content before adding chapters. I'm finding a new love for this story again every time I think about the conspiracies. Such a nostalgic feeling! Things really start to pick up from here. And if you weren't aware of this before, the titles for the chapters actually have to do with the content in that chapter. I hope you all enjoyed! Please let me know what you all think as it will help motivate me to keep recreating it!


	9. Trepidation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Straight up filthy nasty sex later on. With that said, enjoy the chapter~

Scenarios filled Nero’s head as they drove to Thera’s pre-school. Millions of questions muddled their concentration. Both tried to control themselves as Dante sped down the side streets faster than he really should have. No matter how relaxed and cool Dante tried to look, his palms still slid along the wheel with sweat. He hid it by shifting one hand to the bottom of the wheel, the other settling itself around Nero's shoulders in a form of comfort. Concern gripped both Nero and Dante as they arrived at the pre-school, no matter how much they told themselves that it was alright and there weren’t police here or paramedics. It took mere moments for them to walk their way into the office. Thera was sitting in a chair in front of the principles desk, staring at her hands which were playing with the edge of her shirt. The small demon girl seemed very nervous and almost scared as she sat in the oversized armchair. The principle was watching Thera wearily like she didn't know if Thera would attack her or sprout another head, which was odd in itself because he hadn't told them she was a demon. The question floated into Nero’s head like a leaf on top of water. 'Have they figured it out?' A weird feeling crept over Nero like he had walked into a freezer. His instincts told him it was ready for fight or flight mode. He knew it wasn't from the earlier feeling that he should run away to another part of the world and go into hiding, no this was different and it seemed to confuse him for a moment. Different… like… more primal… he shook it off. Instead of following his inner instincts like he usually would he completely entered, not feeling the need since this was-after all-the principal’s office of a preschool. He put it off as the after effects of his and Dante's love making as it had really riled up their demons. It did make him act oddly when they went at it too many times in their devil forms. 

Sitting down next to the white haired child and placing a hand on her shoulder instead he saw her ears perk at the feeling. Startled, Thera’s head shot up and her wide amethyst eyes widened in fear before she focused on her father. Her reaction to his hand had stirred more brief questions in him before they were pushed down and Nero smiled as Thera threw herself from her chair and into her fathers’ arms. Nero caught her so she wouldn't fall off of the chair before he patted her back. They sat there for a while whilst Dante walked over to the other side of Thera's chair to sit down and when she didn’t let go of the younger devil hunter Nero looked over at the principal who was looking at them with a sad expression.

“Thank you for coming.” The principal stated, and gave them a smile with lips pressed firmly together in an expression of regret mixing with the sadness on her face. Nero’s stomach flipped. Dante felt dizzy, but ignored it in favor of crossing his arms while leaning back in his chair. Nero was the first to speak.

“So what’s going on?” Nero asked as the female sitting at her desk pushed up her designer glasses giving him an apologetic smile. The woman seemed nice from her first facial expressions and the conversation on the phone. Maybe Nero might actually like this place. 

“From what the teacher has explained it happened while the children were at recess. She had a bit of an accident at recess that was solved easily,” She said nodding to Thera with an encouraging smile who, in turn, gave a small smile back before the principal continued. “As soon as Ms. Hopper went back to the center of the yard to survey the other students, one of the other students had taken the swing that she had been playing on with another friend. Ms. Hopper has yet to find out what they were talking about on the swings as Eleni, the other girl who was playing with Thera, doesn’t remember what happened.” Both parents sighed in irritation as she continued on. “Children this age can sometimes have a hard time controlling their emotions, so we’ll be keeping more staff outside during recess hours to make sure no one gets hurt.” She settled and Nero felt Thera let go of his neck as her eyes became distant again before she sat back in the chair she had been sitting on before and pulled her legs up to her chest, burying her face on her knees. A twinge of pity shot through him and Dante let out a little sigh before putting his hand on her head again and petting it comfortingly.

“She won't tell you anything?” Dante asked and the principal shook her head in response. Dante sighed, looking over at Thera for a moment before glancing at Nero and back to the emotional child. “Hey princess,” He called and Thera looked up at him with sad eyes. “Come here.” He asked and she slowly hopped down from her chair before making her way over to the older half demon. He took her hand in his and rubbed the top of her hand soothingly before she looked up at him. Her tiny purple orbs, growing brighter every day, glistened with unshed tears.

“Papa…” She said sadly and he had to frown a little at her tone. She sounded broken, muted and so far away from her usual flamboyant self. 

“What’s wrong princess?” Dante asked carefully, making sure he didn’t upset her more. She looked at the floor and he was uncertain of whether she would answer his question or not. Then she looked up at him. Her eyes looked so troubled and she actually looked scared but before he could ask what was wrong she shook her head and scrubbed the tears away from her face. 

"Mm..." She muttered and continued to shake her head. Dante picked her up and wiped away a stray tear that had fallen. 

"Come on princess. Whatever it is, you can tell us." Dante explained and all Thera did was break out into a fit of sobs. Dante's frown deepened and the two parents sighed in defeat. Nero turned to the principal and she smiled at him.

"She hasn't been talking to anyone about it." She said and Nero shook his head.

"It's okay. Sorry for causing so much trouble." He apologized and this time she was the one who shook her head.

"It was no trouble at all. Some children just have trouble coping with their first day." She said and Nero nodded turning to Dante. "Why don't you two take her home and see if she'll tell you anything at home. She might be uncomfortable here." She explained and Dante stood with Thera in his arms. Nero ruffled Thera's head and she looked up at him, still crying before he turned to the principle and nodded to her in goodbye.

"See you tomorrow when you drop her off Mr. Nero." She said and Nero gave her a small smile before walking out with Dante and Thera in tow. Dante finally got Thera to stop crying by tickling her before he put Thera down. When they went through the door of the principal’s office they approached the school entrance. Thera was holding onto Dante’s hand, her small fingers only able to hold part of his large hand.

Nero smiled back at them from his place slightly ahead of them as they turned into the main hall where the exit was located. "Thera when we get home you can have some of papa's ice cream, okay?" Nero explained making Thera jump up and down while squealing. Dante gave him a glare but rolled his eyes in the end and gave in, opening the entrance to the school before walking out. When Thera ran ahead in excitement she stopped short, her eyes growing wide and staring straight ahead. Nero and Dante stopped in confusion behind her before they turned their attention ahead of them. A small boy with was standing at the top of the stairs leading to the sidewalk. His hands were in his pockets, posture very mature for such a small body, like he was trying to look cool too hard. Dante found it amusing. Nero was just very confused. 

"So these are your parents?" The same smooth, high and contradicting voice from the playground suddenly found its way to her ears. The boy from before stared at her with cold gold eyes, holding her in place just like before. "How ugly..." He said blandly. Nero felt a small twinge of anger at the small child for having heard him say that. Didn't the kid have any manners? The boy let a slow cold smile crawl over his face."No wonder..." He said and sauntered past all three of them and into the school, the door shut behind him and Dante and Nero turned back from glaring at the door in time to see Thera holding back tears and sniffling.

"Thera," Nero began kneeling down next to her so he could comfort her. "Did that boy have something to with what happened at the playground?" He asked and all Thera did was whimper and try not to cry. Nero felt his heart sink a little at the sight of the state their poor was in, but he stood up and put a hand on her head. Without definitive proof, he couldn’t do anything even if that child had done something to Thera. "Well come on. Let's go home and have some ice cream and watch TV." He said and she nodded slowly walking ahead of them to the car. 

She stayed on the sidewalk, waiting for them to open the door for her so she could hop in the back and get in her car seat. While Nero was bent over putting the straps of the carseat in their proper place for transportation, Dante had the pleasure of squeezing Nero’s nice perky cheeks much to Nero’s dismay. He had Nero’s ass shielded by his form and the door, so no one could see, but it didn’t make Nero feel any better as he reached back to swat Dante away three or four times silently trying to contain his anger. He managed to finish buckling their daughter in, handing her a children's tablet they had gotten her for her fourth birthday and closed the rear door. He glanced inside the window and watched her skillfully unlock the tablet and open up one of her games Nero had downloaded for her age range. Dante refused to touch it, knowing full well he’d lose his head trying to get it to work. Nero couldn’t blame him. In a day where they had cell phones, the red clad devil hunter was still using a landline. When Nero had been entering his teens they had already been releasing newer desktops with internet. The talk of laptops was being whispered about in its depths. Looking at Dante on the ride home, he really did wonder how old the older half-demon really was. And that, he supposed, was a questions for another day.

When they had returned home Nero had prepared some of Dante's strawberry sundae for Thera, handing the remaining cup of sweet sugary coldness to Dante himself before sitting down. They both studied Thera chow down on the cold treat in front of the TV. She was watching a kid’s show, something about school pets saving the day of other animals. Honestly they could care less. If it weren't for the fact that Thera was obsessed with the show then he would never watch it. Ever. All the obvious things in kids’ shows annoyed both of the older half-demons, not to mention the stupid characters. For their child though and the sake of having a second to themselves they allowed it to be played in their house. By the time they had finished everything up and four O'clock came around Thera had finally calmed down and was now nearly dozing off. Nero went over to Dante, who was reading a magazine issue of firearms monthly with Nero’s headphones on listening to metal. Sitting down on the edge of Dante’s desk, the blue devil waved his hand in front of Dante's face, clearly getting his attention when Dante's eyes snapped up from his magazine to look at the offending hand that dared to interrupt his time relaxing.

"What’s up, kid?" He asked and Nero thrust his thumb in Thera's direction with a serious face.

"Keep an eye on her; I'm going to go get dinner ready." He said and Dante waved him off before getting up and going to lounge next to their daughter. Nero caught Dante's sleeve before he could leave causing Dante to look at him in question. "Try to get her to talk..." He asked softly and Dante nodded. "Hope you guys like grilled cheese." Nero prompted knowing full well that grilled cheese was one of his daughters favorites. As expected, Thera cheered as he walked into the kitchen to make dinner. 

Dante sat next to Thera, making sure that he didn't bounce her up into the air when he sat down. Thera crawled up to him and lay in front of him, snuggling her back to his chest before she continued with watching "The Wonderful Pets". Dante propped his head up on his hand that was leaning by the elbow, his whole body stretched out on the couch like one giant lion. His bare feet hung off the end where Thera discovered was fun to tickle papa back when they had a giant tickle fight. Of course Dante wasn't that ticklish but even demons have exceptions. Dante heard Thera giggle at the show and he patted her head, dragging her attention from the TV to his hand.

"Hey princess," He asked and Thera answered with a bright 'yes papa?' to which Dante chuckled at her tone of voice. She sounded really happy and he really didn't want to ruin what little left of the day she had. But Nero wanted him to ask and he honestly needed to know himself so he could stop worrying. Not that he worried that much but he did occasionally. "Can I ask you somethin'?" He asked and she nodded absentmindedly while looking at the TV. "You know that boy with the gold eyes we saw today?" He asked and she nodded, still seemingly distracted by the TV. "What did he do?" Dante asked calmly petting her hair trying to make sure he didn't make her any more upset then she had been. 

The only thing she did was laugh at the TV show. Dante sighed a little in irritation but didn't bother asking anymore questions. He needed to make sure that she wouldn't break down again. If she did then he would be nursing a headache for the rest of the night. He decided that he would let it go since it didn't really seem to bother her anymore and wait until tomorrow to see how things went. Maybe she would come home tomorrow and she would be fine. But he wouldn't know until she actually went to school tomorrow. 

When Nero finally came out of the kitchen he had called the two for dinner. Hearing no sounds but that of the TV, he walked over to the couch and found the two out cold; snuggling together on the couch. Dante was leaning back into the borner of the couch, one leg thrown over the back of the couch and the other cupping Thera, who was laying on his chest with her midsection trailing down his torso to settle comfortably in between his legs. If only Dante could see himself now... Maybe he would take pictures first... Just one, for the memory. Taking his phone out of his pocket, he flipped open his phone and got a quick shot, setting it as his new home screen before sliding it into his pocket and getting ready to wake them up. 

He nudged Dante in the shoulder watching as his face scrunched up. He still wondered how a man who hunted demon's day in and day out; could sleep like a rock. Those features, roughened with age and experience were relaxed now as he slept. A face so thoroughly cut and beaten yet still remained flawless aside from the stubble always growing on his chin. These days Dante had slept more heavily than before. Nothing usually seemed to wake his lover up unless there were demons, or there was food or their daughter. Nero's demon purred inside his head and he gave a small smile in agreement before nudging Dante again who in turn groaned this time. The rumbling caused Thera to stir.

"Dante, Thera, dinner." He said and watched as they immediately became more alert at the mention of the grilled cheese they had been promised a short while before. 

After dinner, Nero took Thera up to the bath and watched her scrub herself down clumsily. He reminded her to wash behind her ears and all her important parts before they both settled down and she played with some bath toys while he browsed social media on his phone. There had been a time when he and Dante would have to keep a diligent eye on her to keep her from splashing water outside the tub. These days, Nero was thankful he could get away with a glance or two before asking her to open the plug on the tub and hop on out. 

She happily obliged, singing a song from one of her favorite shows as she went. Nero covered her head with a white childrens towel, the top of the towel donning some white cat ears protruding from the material and whiskers sewn into it. There was a lean tail on the end with a small orange bow tied around the end perfectly. He scrubbed her scalp gently with the towel and slowly went down Thera's hair scrubbing and massaging the hair before moving onto her face. She whined and complained the entire time her face was being dried and Nero shushed her as evenly as possible, thankful that she didn't scream and cry anymore during her times when she would get dried off. Handing her the towel he smiled. 

"Would you like to dry yourself the rest of the way?" He asked and from the way she pouted and shook her head, pulling at her hands. He could tell that she was getting tired, so with a nod, he finished drying her off, careful not to upset her, though that was nearly impossible when she didn't really want to be touched when she was cranky. Before long, Nero had gotten the young half demon into her pajamas and into her toddler bed, her tiny limbs scrambling erratically in her excitement for bedtime. The rail was taken down not too long ago and so far she hadn't fallen off the side of the bed. Dante and Nero were surprised at how fast she was growing. After reading her two books and refilling her bedside water, he brushed her bangs back and placed a gentle kiss on her smooth forehead with his lips that had been roughened by age. She smiled brightly, but sleepily as her eyes were drooping closed. 

"Goodnight Thera. We love you." He said referring to himself and Dante. Thera smiled so bright her eyes squished closed to make room for her dimpled cheeks. 

"I love you too!" She said smiling brightly while snuggling down into her sheets. Nero straightened, turning off the bedside table and making his way out of the room. His shadowed figured lingered by the door, lit only by the light of the hallway, watching Thera turn onto her side before he closed the door for the night. 

Absentmindedly he wondered how long these peaceful days would continue. It had been like living in a dream since Thera had arrived home with him at Devil May Cry. If they hadn't had to continue hunting demons during this time Nero would have wondered if he were dreaming this whole thing up. Dead even… He shook the thoughts from his head. Pointless as they were, since he was happy.

Making his way down the hall to the overlook for the office, Nero fumbled around in his pockets and produced a pair of drumsticks. They were thick, carbon fiber and black with white writing down each slender piece that lead to a teardrop shaped tip. Tossing one over to the other hand, he twirled them both as he made his way down the stairs and past Dante's desk. 

Dante, who was just coming out of the kitchen from starting the dishwasher with a grumble, paused when he saw the young adult sitting down on the stool behind the drum set that Nero had gotten for his birthday last year. A small smile peaked out from underneath the usual uncaring mask that Dante wore. He watched as Nero began to play a small blues percussion soft and low. He began with a gentle beat, five taps on the symbol and the sixth was met with a tap from the snare drum. Every other third cycle he would throw in a tap from the bass drum at his feet and end the fourth cycle with a small drum roll and bass drum finish before repeating. Metal was nice, but not for getting their four-year-old to sleep at night. It made Dante's fingers itch to play as he glanced at his guitars on the wall. They hadn't been played in quite some time. Tonight though, he chose the bass guitar in crimson right next to them and together, Dante and Nero played a song to lull their child to sleep in the room above while they enjoyed each others musical company on another level than just demons and humans. Both men had soft smiles on their faces as they watched each other play while the sound wrapped around them wholly, completely. Their eyes drifted closed and together they floated over measures and sounds like life had simply flowed away with their music.

A few hours after Thera had gone to bed, Dante and Nero wrapped up their music and stood with a stretch. Nero's hands holding his drumsticks above his head before he tucked them into his pocket once again. 

"Thanks for playing with me tonight Dante." Nero mused as he exited from behind his drum set. Dante wrapped an arm around Nero's waist with a wolfish smile. 

"You know I love playing her to sleep." The half devil in red provided easily and Nero made an amused noise leaning his head back to look up at the taller male. 

"I know you love playing, period." Nero retorted playfully to which Dante chuckled. They had maneuvered themselves into each other's arms, clearly a bit bothered by making music together. Dante leaned down to inhale the scent by Nero's neck. 

"I love playing with a lot of different things." Dante said impishly with a snicker into the other man's neck while his nose ghosted down to a shivering shoulder. "Including you." He purred out as his lips caressed the skin where he was breathing in. Another shiver before Nero gripped at Dante's hair. Slightly surprised, Dante leaned back and up a bit to look into his lover's eyes, who in turn brought their lips together in a slow sensual kiss. 

Their lips danced around one another for what seemed like moments but was really for a long while before Dante hoisted Nero up and onto his hips to carry him to their room. He took a few steps, almost moving without needing to look at where they were going as Nero continued to consume his mouth. That feeling was abruptly come to an end with a chuckle as Dante broke the kiss to nibble on Nero's neck, hiking the younger half-demon higher to climb the steps. Nero let out a relaxed moan ending his own chuckle as they climbed the stairs as one. At the top of the stairs, Nero leaned away from Dante to connect their lips again, beginning to unbutton the crimson shirt on his lover's person. 

Nero pulled away after pulling at Dante's bottom lip with his teeth making the older man growl. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of this." Nero said as a mischievous look filled those ocean blue orbs. Dante felt a crackle of electricity ripple over his skin as primal need throbbed through his body, nearly making him trigger before they'd even started. 

Ever since Thera had started to sleep through the night they had been able to go back to their previous habit of fucking for most of the night and sleeping what little sleep they needed to do normal parenting responsibilities. Tonight was no different as Dante threw Nero onto their bed and ripped his arms out of his now unbuttoned shirt. Nero toed off his boots, dropping his drumsticks onto his side table before Dante was atop him in a storm of kisses. They rolled around on the bed slowly shedding clothes and leaving love marks on one another's body as they went. Both demons could feel their erections throbbing in the cold air by the time they sat back from one another to take each other in. Their breath mingled in a warm air, thick with both of their scent. Nero was the first to move as he bent down in between Dante's kneeling legs. Dante leaned back in anticipation of his mate's movements, knowing full well what he had planned to do. 

Nero lay on his stomach, sweaty skin already sticking to the sheets while he propped himself up on his elbows, wetting his lips before wrapping them around the head of Dante's large cock with a hum of satisfaction. The member twitched inside his mouth every time he moved his tongue around the head while its owner huffed above him. Nero could feel his own heartbeat in his ears matching the beat of Dante's throbbing erection inside his mouth. The sensation made him groan and flatten his tongue on the bottom of Dante's cock so he could swallow it the rest of the way. Dante's breath caught in his throat, a quiver passing through his body and Nero deepthroated all of his long thick rod in one fluid movement. Dante laced his fingers into Nero's hair, reveling in how amazing his lovers throat felt pulsing around him. 

"Aww yeah…" Dante encouraged as Nero pulled off of him a bit to breath in before thrusting himself back onto the project in front of him with a moan. Dante took it upon himself to guide Nero's head back and forth as he began to thrust into his mates throat. Nero relaxed, obliging as Dante's hips snapped back and forth, sliding all the way down his throat. Dante pressed Nero's face as far down as it would go, loving the quiver of the younger males hands as he struggled to breath. His nose pressed wet and hot against Dante's navel. Nero held out as best as he could while Dante facefucked him deep for what he thought to be forever. His mind started to wanted, legs quivering and eyes rolling back into his head as Dante held him down on his cock. 

Neri let out a sloppy wet, bubbly breath around Dante's cock after a few minutes, making the older devil groan loudly before ripping the younger demon off of him to let him breath. Nero pulled off of Dante with a loud pop and gagging cough, scooting up onto his knees as he did. Drool and foam from dry heaving around his lovers cock dripped down his chin. He wiped it away right before Dante planted a sloppy kiss on his lips, not caring in the least about his lovers messy appearance but loving that he had made him that way. The kiss was a mess of tongue, slick and warm while they lay back on the bed with Nero underneath the red demon. Nero shuddered as his neglected member was stroked as the sloppy kiss continued. When Dante pressed a nail against the tip of Nero's erection Nero broke the kiss to melt into the bed while digging his nails into Dante's back. The older demon let out a guttural moan as electricity crackled over his skin once again, but no, it wasn't time yet. He would trigger later. Instead, he leaned down and latched onto the space between Nero's neck and shoulder to leave a hickey while grabbing the strawberry line from his bedside table and sliding two moistened fingers inside the shorter lover. Nero pressed his head back into his pillow with a sigh as he was being filled. He enjoyed the feeling of Dante's fingers wiggling around inside him. The fingers traced circled around his prostate making Nero's legs jerk in anticipation. A third finger was added before there was more teasing. His prostate was stroked causing Nero to choke on a gasp. Precum oozed from the tip, being spread over his head by Dante's thumb as his hand fisted Neros' flushed member. A fourth finger was added with a twist of the wrist, Nero groaning a little louder than he would have liked as he covered his mouth before Dante pulled his fingers out and settled in between the younger man's legs. His own cock was still slick with Nero's saliva as it throbbed in the cold air. He nudged it up against the younger demons opening, watching the muscles quiver in return. Nero arched his back causing Dantes rod to prod him a bit deeper while he let out a breathy demand. Dante leaned down with a chuckle, hearing his demand to be taken.

"I fucking love you," Dante said one time before caught Nero's lips with his own and slid into his lover in one easy movement. From the crown of his cock to the thick base, all sunk into Nero with little trouble. The overwhelming feeling of being full with Dante firmly pressed against him made Nero moan loudly into Dante's mouth before he broke away from the kiss. Knowing the younger demon was more than ready and didn't need anymore preparation, Dante leaned back to hike his legs up more, pinning them against Nero's chest so he could pound into him with a punishing pace. 

Nero's breath caught in his throat, the sudden onslaught of pleasure overriding his brain as he accepted every thrust that his lover was giving him. His devil bringer flew out, slamming into the bed as he finally found his voice. 

"Fu-uck Dante!" Nero moaned out in a long wanton drawl while Dante growled above him and leaned over, pressing into him deeper while his teeth played with the skin below Nero's ear lobe. 

"That's right," Dante ground out through his thrusts. "Take my fucking cock..." Dante growled as his eyes glowed a faint red. Nero's toes curled as Dante changed their position slightly and slammed right into his prostate with the wide head of his cock. Nero muffled a scream, trying not to wake their daughter. Dante gave a dark smirk and gripped onto Nero's legs before throwing them over his shoulders, leaning back and pulling Nero into his thrusts by his thighs. The bed screamed underneath them as Nero stifled a few screams while his prostate was wrecked under Dante's thrusts. "Nero…" Dante let the other man's name fall from his lips like a blessing straight from Sparda's own lips. "Who do you belong to?" Dante thrust on every syllable watching Nero's hands slide from his mouth as the moans slid out freely now mixed with gasps of pleasure. In return for Dante's possessive words Nero felt his demon inside submit, offering itself and everything Nero was to the older demon. 

"Yours..!" Nero all but screamed as he tried to keep his voice and his demon under control while his insides were thoroughly misplaced. Dante hummed, clearly pleased by the confession and licked his lips.

"You're damn right." Dante stated simply and grabbed Nero's shoulder for a better grip to thrust into the younger of the two. The pleasure was beginning to grow inside them and curl deep within. Dante seemed to thrust into him nonstop at the same punishing pace. Nero couldn't hold on for much longer. "Dante… I'm gonna cum-" He confessed with a blush on his cheeks so deep he almost looked feverish. Dante leaned forward, making his thrusts deeper, shallower, and against the blue demon's prostate far more than before. "Fuck..!" Nero groaned out as the pleasure finally mounted and exploded inside him like a dam allowing the warm seas to flood the calm streams of his veins. Warm salty liquid poured from his erection. Spilling up his own chest and up into the dip of his collarbone. 

The feeling of Nero clamping down around him was enough to bring Dante near the edge of orgasm as his thrusts became slightly erratic. The more he thrust, the more Nero twitched from overstimulation and even started letting out over pleasured whines. With a final groan, Dante released himself deep inside the warm slick channel surrounding him while he bit down onto Nero's shoulder hard with long fangs causing Nero to actually choke on another cry of pleasure. His cum flooded Nero's asshole so much so that Nero thought he may be sick from how full he felt. The pressure in his stomach was a nice feeling but one he didn't think he'd ever quite get used to. After the last bits of Dante's orgasm were over, Nero shimmied giving Dante the OK to pull out who obliged, giving a satisfied hum of appreciation as his semen leaked out of Nero's hole onto the bed in a fairly decent gush of liquid. With a final sigh, Dante tossed himself onto the bed next to Nero. The smaller devil snuggled close, catching his breath before round two. The milky fluid kept oozing out of Nero at a languid pace which was a feeling he wouldn't get used to either. He knew Dante was part demon, but the fact that he was biologically different to the point of swelling Nero's I sides was something he hadn't quite grasped. Dante had told him that the amount he came was the same whether it was with him or anyone else, which made more sense as to why Dante never had any other regular relationships. 

"I love you too, Dante." Nero said seriously as he listened to the older demons heart beat steadily in his chest while a hand lay on his slowly deflated pelvis. Dante wiped a piece of hair out of the blue devil's face and planted a few kisses on the fingers he was holding in his own hand. A few minutes passed as the air cooled around them before Dante hopped up onto his elbows which caused Nero to flop over onto his back. 

"Ready for round two?" Dante asked with a big grin pointed at his cleary still recovering lover. Nero rolled his eyes with a large sigh, but there was a small smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a kudo and review if you enjoyed the smut! Leave some anyway if you feel the need or want! I enjoy hearing from everyone.


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